THERE are lots of reasons that theatrical productions sometimes don’t quite live up to expectations and perhaps the saddest is when talented performers are let down by material that isn’t as good as they are.

For me, because this is after all just one person’s opinion, this is precisely what happened to the members of the talented Junior AAODS with their production at the Borough Theatre this week.

The evening kicked off with an hugely enjoyable showcase, devised by the cast which allowed company members old and new to take centre stage and provided some stand out moments not least from Millie Vaughan and Tom Davies, who left the audience in no doubt that theirs will be names to remember in the future with outstanding performances of Don’t Rain on my Parade and Close Every Door to Me.

If I were to criticise the soloists, it would have been good to have seen a little interaction with the appreciative audience, maybe a smile or a bow...but it’s a minor thing.

It takes a lot of courage to stand on your own on a stage and sing your heart out and I applaud every young performer, not only those in AAODS, who has the gumption to do it - they are the backbone of our thriving amateur community and its continuation lies in the hands of youngsters like Ella Griffiths, Carys Davies, Charlotte Wilson,?Lily and Miranda Newsam, Anni Rees, Eve Carey, Abigail Harrington and Kerrigan Heffernan.

If nothing else it’s reassuring for those of us who are slightly longer in the tooth to know that the future of amateur theatre is in safe hands thanks to the youth companies like Junior AAODS and those of their ilk.

With the showcase done the evening moved on to its top billed event - Hairspray Junior, which to be honest is where things started to go a bit awry.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Hairspray is a great, fun show with some terrific music but, despite the programme notes which explain the difficulties of staging a show about racial tensions using only a white cast, the story does rely on the fact that there are two separate factions and it makes great demands on young performers to adequately portray that by acting alone which made for confusion.

To add to that, the show relies on backing tracks which for me are no replacement for a live orchestra, and when you supplement that with appalling sound balance and dodgy diction you’re left with a show which sadly lets down a brilliant cast.

And makes no bones about it, this was a cast packed with talent. Rebecca Saunders as Tracy made an unforgettable AAODS debut in a role which sees her rarely leave the stage, and was given excellent support by Anni Rees as Amber, Ella Griffiths as Penny, Wade Fox as Link and Izzy Nevill as Edna.

As Motormouth Maybelle Zoe Hughes created one of the moments of the night with her powerful number I Know Where I’ve Been showing a maturity of performance which was impressive.

Great cameo roles came from Sydney Bawler, Kerrigan Heffernan, Olivia Latheron, Abigail Harrington, Alex Evans and Analisa Head and a strong AAODS?chorus.

The material might not have been up to scratch but this was a cast and a production team which made the most of every moment and thoroughly deserved the opening night standing ovation

Is Hairspray AAODS Juniors at it best??Probably not, but taking into consideration the age of the performers, I am quietly confident that next year’s production of Oliver will see the company back at the top of its game.

In the meantime, if they manage to turn down the volume a bit, audiences will still have a show packed with young talent, life, enthusiasm and enjoyment so don’t hesitate to pick up a ticket...if there are any left!