#She: a celebration of women

I am always in awe of anyone who 'walks the walk' rather than just 'talks the talk'. Ben Francis is to be congratulated for creating and directing the Promise Adelaide group. This young man, recently awarded the ‘Minister for Education and Child Development’ award has built over the last three years, a promise to Adelaide of hope for the future.

Each performance is connected to a charity organization; this time White Ribbon; and all proceeds from the shows go fully to the charity nominated. Past shows have supported Beyond Blue, The Heart Foundation and Breast Cancer research. The shows are also to create an outlet to ‘combine their love of the arts with charitable initiatives in their local community’. The current offering #She: a celebration of women is a powerhouse of up and coming talent in South Australia.

The performance which I attended was slick. Set up cabaret style in the Scotch College Chapel with effort to table presentation and décor, the ambience was professional from the start. Ushers and front of house staff were the performers themselves and the crew were drawn also from a pool of youthful talent. Costuming whilst simple, was very effective- female cast in white, male in black.  Craig Williams from Mosaic AV is also to be congratulated for supporting the show with high quality visuals. A mixture of static images, film footage and a moving montage of domestic violence victims were some examples.

From Ben Francis’ passionate introduction about Domestic Violence issues and the charity initiative “White Ribbon” to the moving finale of the show- Michael Jackson’s ‘Heal the World’, the young performers enthusiastically and energetically gave their all on stage.

Some numbers incorporated dance elements, choreographed by Lewis Shilvock. A particular highlight was watching the talented Jasmin Carter as a featured dancer. Impressive also was the tight musical direction by Camryn Jordans, with great arrangements and harmonies of the songs all celebrating women.

Whilst all of the young people performing the twenty-nine numbers were strong performers, it would be remiss not to highlight some talent to keep an eye on in the future. Ben Francis himself as a performer has a beautiful voice with a maturity and depth beyond his 17 years. His duet with Serena Martino-Williams of ‘Better than I’ was a highlight.  Martino- Williams has a stunning voice with a very strong high register and is one to watch out for.

Other rich performances were given by Leah Harford (always a winner with her beautifully resonant voice and great belt), Jess Muenchow (a powerhouse of strength and passion), Erin Sowerby (a fabulous belt reminiscent of Aretha Franklin), Harry Fiedler (charismatic and smooth vocals) and Tom Russell (bringing strong stage experience and beautiful vocals). 

All whole cast numbers were strong and delivered with professionalism and style- one that I found particularly exciting to watch, was “Proud Mary”. This was a wonderful night at the theatre and I have complete admiration for Ben Francis and his team and their drive to help others. What a wonderful initiative!

Shelley Hampton

Images: Nathaniel Mason of Mason Digital Photography