Singin’ in the Rain is the perfect choice of show to mark the centenary of a musical theatre company.
It has exuberance and physicality in equal measure, well-loved songs and unforgettable dances.
And of course THAT eponymous scene, the one we all wait for when the movie is shown on the telly around Christmas.
It’s Inverness Musical Theatre’s latest offering, opening at Eden Court last night to a packed and buzzing house.
Not without reason is the original 1952 film up there as one of the greatest movie musicals of all time, and choosing to put it on, wet zone and all, to mark their centenary reveals just how far IMT has come since 1925.
The amateur company deserves huge kudos for the boldness of their choice, the scale of their ambition and skill of its execution.
Singin’ in the Rain is set in Hollywood in the late 1920s during the transition from silent to talking movies.
Silent film actors had to adapt to the talkies, with the audience hearing the sound of their celluloid idols’ voices for the very first time.
For silent actress Lina Lamont, played for IMT by Serenity Harbor, moving into the talkies is a nightmare. Her voice is shrill and squeaky, a complete turn-off for the audience.
So her leading man, actor Don Lockwood (Chris Tunks) and his co-conspirator, pianist Cosmo Brown (played by IMT’s chairman, Matthias Kremer) have to come up with a plan to supplant her with the mellifluous Kathy Selden (Alison Ozog) with whom Don is madly in love, and thereby save R.F Simpson’s struggling studio.
They’re all demanding roles, especially for Tunks and Kremer on whose shoulders (or feet) rest intense audience anticipation of their iconic dance scenes, performed by Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor in the 1952 movie.
They didn’t let us down, Kremer delightful in the highly physical ‘Make ’Em Laugh’, and Tunks nailing ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ in the specially installed ‘wet zone’ street scene and getting comprehensively soaked.
The famous sofa scene in ‘Good Mornin’’ with Tunks, Kremer and Ozog was fabulous, and Tunks and Kremer also smashed the demands of ‘Moses Supposes’ larking with their long-suffering male diction coach, played by Eddie Docherty.
Serenity Harbor as Lina really settled into the second half and completely lifted the show with her brilliant rendition of ‘What’s Wrong With Me?’.
From then on, the production roared into the sublime as the company gave full reign to the joyful exuberance which is the hallmark of Singin’ in the Rain.
The colourful and slick ensemble song and dance routines— all praise to the terrific chorus—fired up the Eden Court audience who were on their feet at the end.
Special praise for the unsung heroes in the pit, the 17-piece orchestra led by musical director Fiona Stuart. What a pleasure in our current entertainment world to have live musicians accompanying the show, especially with such skill and precision.
And another special mention to a grand silent actor in the show— Dunrobin Castle, chosen as the stunning French chateau-style backdrop to the filming of the three black and white movies at the heart of the plot, The Royal Rascal, The Duelling Cavalier and The Dancing Cavalier.
The hilarious scenes so successfully filmed there were projected onto the stage at the appropriate times in the show.
Just one detail about this seems to sum up the incredible talent which powers Inverness Musical Theatre — accompanist Mairi Mackenzie composed and performed the score for The Royal Rascal herself, having learned how to do this from her grandmother, a professional accompanist to the silent movies at the turn of the 20th century.
Huge congratulations to wardrobe and props too and the whole invisible behind-the-scenes army powering the show.
It may be correct to describe IMT as an amateur company, but the level of local talent gathered there is truly impressive and should be a source of great pride to the city and the Highlands.
Singin’ in the Rain runs until this Saturday, and if you haven’t booked already, you must.
One hundred years and definitely not out for IMT, they’ve already announced next year’s show, Cole Porter’s Anything Goes from Wednesday 25 to Saturday 28 March, 2026.
For more on IMT, why not peek inside their costume closet with this exclusive backstage article?
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