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This year’s concert presented by The French School of Bahrain was an event that lived up to its promise of being both exciting and fun.
With 71 students performing in what is their second or, in some cases, third language, producer and director Sadaf Karim had her hands full and her nerves were palpable before the opening curtain.
She need not have worried.
Yes, the main cast members were a little nervous to start with. Who wouldn’t be? But they came through with flying colours and heads held high. In fact, so did all the performers.
Keeping such a large choir in unison and in tune for 12 songs is no easy task, especially when it all has to be done alongside school work and exams. It shows how dedicated the students were that they performed so admirably, hitting every note with panache.
For the mostly French-speaking audience one of the high spot of the choir’s singing must have been La Ballade Des Gens Huereux.
But the standout number in my opinion was Africa, a gorgeous song, recorded so brilliantly back in 1982 by the band, Toto. It started with a brilliant combination of finger-clicking, thigh-slapping and clapping to produce the sound of rain and the whole cast getting that absolutely spot-on was pretty impressive. They then rocked into the rhythm and words of the song.
The very talented Elena Shokry’s musicality and theatricality shone out from the stage during her two solo slots (I Had A Dream and Happy Tune) but even she could not eclipse the singing the other soloists, Alienore Roussel (Sweet Dreams), Elise Travers (Stand By Me) and Houssam Aknouche (Emmenez Moi) who sang their hearts out.
It was an evening that simply raced by. The students should be very proud of their efforts, but ultimately the night belonged to Sadaf and her backstage crew, whose hard work, dedication and talent successfully brought Musical 2016 Show to the stage of the Cultural Hall.
Well done everyone!
– Christine Hasan
