BATS Tea Tree Players Youth Theatre Tea Tree Players Theatre Until 10 Jul 2010 Review by Nikki Gaertner Combining the talents of Tea Tree Players’ youth and junior theatre groups, this production of “Bats” bringsto life an Australian musical play, written by Simon Denver. The setting is the sleepy town of Humperdink, located in the Transylvanian Alps, and once home to thelegendary Count Dracula. Although the Count’s castle and ancestors are still residents of Humperdink, thetown’s residents are now much less fearsome, relying rather on a successful grape harvest to keep theeconomy in order. But this year, after a ruined crop, some new ideas for some monetary income must bethought of – and the town’s ancestry could be just the ticket… Directors Penny Phillips, Lisa Wilton and Michaela Phillips have done a great job in coordinating a large castof varied ages, particularly with the small stage area of the TTP Theatre. The cast are all enthusiastic, theenjoyment showing more and more on their faces as they relax as the show progresses. The performance ofone of the final numbers, “Just Like the Good Old Days”, featured a full stage of happy, smiling faces andwas particularly enjoyable for that reason. With the cast needing to cover 80 roles, this production really is an ensemble effort, and it would be toodifficult to mention them all. But this being said, some performers do deserve a special mention. Josh Richardson and Nicole McKay are suitably eerie, yet ‘normal’ as the latest Mr and Mrs Dracula. To thisAnthony Cox adds some strangeness as their butler, Igor. Of the ‘Criminals’, James Hassan and Lisa Cross provide some side humour as the bumbling Nosher andNasher, while in the ‘Police’ Jasmine Dixon is nicely cast as the smart but innocent Zsa Zsa (with some greatpuppy characterisations also provided by her sidekick, Rover (Jordan Cross)). The group of ‘Junior Brats’ are realistically (and loudly) portrayed by some of the younger cast members,strutting their stuff in their number – including a great demonstration of ‘the worm’ by Brodie Reid! Although starting hesitantly, Tom Arnold, as Count Dracula presents one of the funniest numbers in theshow, “Look Into My Eyes” (made particularly humorous by the very Australian portrayal of Mrs Hill, byRebecca Cross), while the standout of the night was absolutely pint-sized Caleb Bond, who delighted as theBank Manager (complete with upperclass English accent!). The set is nicely designed by Lisa Wilton and Penny Phillips, and works well to accommodate the large cast.In addition, the costumes are wonderfully colourful and well themed, as designed by Jo Allenby. This production uses radio microphones extensively, which evidently required the theatre sound system to beupgraded. Although the microphones worked well in amplifying the singers, they did result in someunevenness to the sound (as they weren’t used during the ‘speaking’ parts of the production). Altogether, “Bats” is a fun production for a young theatrical cast and should be enjoyed by Tea Tree Players’audiences this winter.