The Courtyard was packed on Tuesday evening, with a full audience sat in anticipation of Hereford Musical Theatre Company’s latest production of the well-known musical comedy, Sister Act.

Based on the 1992 smash hit film starring Whoopi Goldberg, this tale of soul-singing and sisterly comradery, tells the story of Deloris Van Cartier, a disco diva whose life is turned upside down when she witnesses a murder, committed by her gangster boyfriend, Curtis Jackson.

Under protective custody, Deloris is hidden in a convent, and becomes ‘Sister Mary Clarence.’

Deloris, played by Georgina Silcox, had the tough job of leading this iconic musical, but she did so with great energy and a great singing voice, which particularly shone in “Bless Our Show” when the nuns gathered in her bedroom worried about singing for the “Pope gig.”

Mother Superior, was played by Sarah Phillips, who was a very likeable leader, with great comic timing and characterisation, particularly in “I Haven’t Got A Prayer.”

Emily Gardner, was especially funny as the overly perky nun Sister Mary Patrick, who had a great voice and a fantastic energy onstage.

Sister Mary Lazarus (Trish Chandler) was also very comical and enjoyable to watch, with great timing during her ‘rap’ in “Sunday Morning Fever,” which started the second half.

Sister Mary Robert, played by Emily Saunders, was great as the shy, quiet nun, who is inspired by Deloris to become a stronger person. Her song “Life I Never Led” was sung well and warmly received by the audience.

Tina and Michelle (Chloe Darrell and Jen Booton) were also strong performers in the beginning Night Club scene, backing Deloris with singing and choreographed dance moves.

The nuns in general were excellent as a collective, and they always came onstage in a different formation, which was tidy and pleasing to watch. Their dance moves in unison looked great, and they produced a great sound in the big musical numbers.

The only disappointment was that you couldn’t always hear all of the nuns’ individual lines - but I’m sure that was due to not being able to find microphones for that many nuns!

The male performances, in particular, were very strong.

The police officer, “Sweaty Eddie,” was played by Sam Morrish, who was lovely and awkward, with a clear voice that suited his songs.

In the musical number “I Could Be That Guy,” Eddie sung about his hopes to be “that dude all in white,” while the ensemble ripped off his policeman clothes to reveal a white suit underneath, to the delight of Eddie.

Then, the ensemble ripped off this white suit, revealing his policeman uniform underneath that! This was very clever, performed with a lot of skill from the ensemble, and left Eddie to finish the song back in his own reality.

Lewis Booton, who played Deloris’ gangster boyfriend, Curtis Jackson, was charmingly evil, particularly in his song “When I Find My Baby” which was well performed.

Curtis’ gangster crew gave one the most memorable performances with “Lady In The Long Black Dress,” which had fantastic character acting, singing and dancing.

Joey (Ian Burrell) was a great caricature comic gangster, while Pablo (Josh Harris) had an excellent Spanish accent, providing many moments of comedy.

TJ (Rees Matthews) shone in particular, as Curtis’ excitable nephew, with excellent movement and dancing, and a great singing voice to match.

The costumes were one of my favourite parts of the show, with an array of nuns’ habits, ranging from the standard black and white, to all-blue sequinned gowns.

In the finale, the nuns wore white sequined habits, while the leading nuns wore black and white ones - which were disorientatingly sparkly!

The “Pope” also appeared in the corner of the top balcony to watch the nuns final performance, which was very funny.

And as with any feel-good musical, the ‘baddies’ got their justice, and came on in convict outfits and chains.

Mention must be given to the brilliant director, Richard Davies and talented musical director, Jenni Axtell, who tackled this massive musical with ease and excellence.

Choreographer, Sarah-Jane Matthews also did a fantastic job of choreographing the ensemble numbers, as well as keeping those nuns in line!

Performances run until Saturday, November 11th, but tickets are nearly sold out for every night.

The Courtyard Box Office may be able to place you on a reserve list for tickets if you call 01432 340555.