ANNE OF GREEN GABLES Hills Youth Theatre Stirling Community Theatre Until 28 Jun 2015 Review by Nikki Gaertner Generation after generation have long been captivated by the stories of L.M. Montgomery, and particularly her wide variety of female “heroines” and their adventures on Prince Edward Island at the turn of the twentieth century. Stories of strong-willed, smart and motivated young women are just as needed and relevant now as they were then, and as such these are the books that have been, and will continue to be, handed from mother to daughter (and hopefully some sons too!) time after time. But though the books are many, with protagonists from Emily Starr to Sara Stanley and Kilmeny Gordon, none are so well known and remembered as the imaginative and spirited Anne Shirley, of Green Gables. Director Di Mason has assembled a huge group of around 100 young performers to bring her adaptation of this popular story to life. The script, originally written by Joan Leslie for a HYT production presented in 2000, highlights many scenes readers will find familiar and enjoyable. And as always, all of the cast are given plenty to do, with each performer having the opportunity to deliver multiple lines, and the younger cast also performing songs and dances across the two acts (just remember to look up and smile while singing and dancing everyone – show us the fun you’re having with it!). With such a popular book, and an equally famous television mini-series, it is a challenge for any cast to bring these well-known characters to life. But HYT rise to the occasion, delivering some very enjoyable performances. Lucie Zodrow has the biggest task in bringing the lovable Anne to life, and she does so delightfully well. Zodrow pleasingly presents the character complete with the expected Canadian accent, and is very well rehearsed with her lines, (which are of course quite wordy due to Anne’s love of vocabulary), and the delivery of these. She is on stage for just about the entire production, and should be commended for her portrayal of this key character. Alongside Zodrow, Zoe Muller is perfectly cast and very much looks the part as the pretty and cheerful Diana Barry. Though very short, her scene with Marilla’s currant wine is particularly humorous and enjoyable. Ikee Blackman presents a much more melancholy Gilbert Blythe than might be expected, however as the script sadly doesn’t allow the audience to witness much of Gil’s likeable character due to a lack of lines, he does make the most of his limited opportunity to show his longing to kindle a friendship with Anne. Matilda Butler and Sam Reissenweber probably have the most difficult roles to portray in Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. Butler does well starting with Marilla’s more brusque nature on Anne’s arrival, and then transitioning to show her kinder side as her love for the orphan grows. L.M. Montgomery’s Marilla is a little more of a rough diamond and hesitant to show humour and emotion, but this is quite hard to portray with as short a script as this! In contrast, Reissenweber is a quiet and loving Matthew, but again isn’t given a full opportunity to develop the multiple layers of the character written into the book. The performance of the night however, must go to Chloe Zodrow, who soars above the rest of the cast with her portrayal of local busybody, gossip and “worthy woman”, Mrs Rachel Lynde. Zodrow’s interpretation of Mrs Lynde is just right, with more than a touch of haughtiness, and quite a bit of a prying eye, while still displaying the odd touch of underlying kindness too. She is the one to watch whenever she is on stage, never dropping character (even during the on stage parade at intermission), and by far the performer most enjoyed by the audience. Readers will be pleased to see many other familiar and entertaining characters on stage, including Anne’s “friends” Josie Pye (Charlotte Mckenzie), Ruby Gillis (Bellarose Watts), Jane Andrews (Cassandra Barrow), Gertie Pye (Sophie Zodrow), Tillie Boulter (Lane Wesson) and Prissy Andrews (Molly Driver). There are also multiple “boys vs girls” moments with the above group meeting Gilbert’s “friends” Charlie Sloan (Jett Gapper), Tommy Sloan (Toby Vincent), Jamie Andrews (Kyle Fenlon), Andrew McPhearson (Jevan Francis), Alfred Gillis (Marcus Dalton), Frederick Spencer (James Grosser), Moody Spurgeon-McPhearson (Benjamin Proeve), and cheeky lads Jimmy Glover (Tom Grosser) and William Andrews (Anton Levings). Costumes are colourful, suit the era and work well across the entire production, and the set is complemented by picturesque photo projections that take you directly to Avonlea. All in all, this production will take lovers of the “Anne” series on a trip down memory lane, and is likely to make you want to reacquaint yourself by reading the full story again. And hopefully for those not yet as well versed with L.M. Montgomery’s tale of Anne Shirley, you will find yourself a new fan encouraged to open the pages for the very first time!