Make your move to the Civic Theatre, Chelmsford to see C.A.O.D.S'
CHESS - The Musical, playing 22nd - 26th September 2009.

Riding high on the current Abba mania, CHESS with music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson, formerly of Abba fame and lyrics by Tim Rice, it is not to be missed. And in these credit-crunch times, get your show satisfaction for less with a West End style performance at your local theatre with tickets from just £12.

This highly acclaimed musical develops the ancient and distinguished game of chess into a metaphor for romantic rivalries and East-West political intrigue. The principal pawns form a love triangle - the loutish American grand master, the earnest Russian champion and the Hungarian-American female chess second, who arrives at the international championships with the American but falls for the Russian. From Tyrol to Thailand the players, lovers, politicians, CIA and KGB interface to the pulse of the monumental rock score.

One can hardly imagine a subject more unlikely to inspire a show than the cerebral game of chess, but this modern musical is a master-piece. Director and Choreographer Sallie Warrington breathes new life into C.A.O.D.S and her staging and slick professionalism shine through. Her imaginative interpretation and creative collaboration with the production team sees a chequered chess board floor; while on stage, acting is played against giant screens projecting pseudo-newsreel shots. With solely black & white costumes the impactful finale delivers a moving monochrome mix of emotions. Under the expert baton of Musical Director Patrick Tucker, the music, a tuneful amalgam of operetta, rock, soul, disco and Broadway is CHESS's strongest asset. Ensemble numbers are superbly sung with cast supported with an off stage choir of C.A.O.D.S members.

Gareth Barton as Anatoly Sergievsky is most plausibly cast as the thoughtful Russian chess player with both charisma and a conscience. His vocals in songs like 'Anthem' and 'Where I Want To Be' are impressive and full of bravura. John Escott is equally fine with his portrayal of the petulant Frederick Trumper. He has an edgy rock voice that suits Trumper's rangy vocal passages and irratatable character traits. He delivers the international hit 'One Night In Bangkok' alongside exotic dancers 'basquing' in their radiance, with panache, and 'Pity The Child' with pathos. Completing the love triangle is Sarah Barton as Florence Vassy. She provides a circus for the senses with a cacophony of emotions - 'Nobody's Side' a rueful foreboding of the romantic disaster ahead, and 'Heaven Help My Heart' a passionate soliloquy as she realises her lover may leave her stranded.

Rounding off the cast is Diana Baker's superb Svetlana as the deserted Russian wife. Her duet with Florence 'I Know Him So Well' (the 2nd biggest UK single in 1985 for Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson) is thrilling in its under-cutting syncopations and melodic structure; strong-voiced and sinister John Sullivan's take on Alexander Molokov, a blackmailing KGB villain; Ben Martins' energetic and impactful Arbiter and Sean Quigley's controlling Walter de Courcey provide impressively cohesive performances.

CHESS - The Musical is a show with a solid, somewhat old-fashioned story that still has a bitter-sweet rough edged view of the world. It's exciting theatre in a match of wit and passion, and C.A.O.D.S is playing to win in this game!

Cast List