Side Show

Audiences who have chosen to spend their hard-earned dollars on a ticket to a show should not have to sit through crackling microphones and technical glitches; sound is a problem that has plagued Hayes Theatre from the beginning.

The balance between band and the amplification of voices has rarely been spot on, but in the second half of this performance of Side Show crackling, thumps and mics cutting in and out frustrated the audience almost beyond their tolerance.

Despite the gremlins in the system, the talent onstage still managed to shine through. After her near show-stealing stint in Les Miserables, Kerrie Anne Greenland gave a charmingly nuanced performance as the more reserved Violet of the conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. Laura Bunting didn't have as much to do playing the brash Daisy, but made the most of a couple of second half duets with Greenland. Timothy Springs, playing the girls' long-suffering minder Jake, shone during his 'declaration of feelings' song You Should Be Loved - hopefully Australian audiences get to see him in a more substantial role in the near future.

Not as joyously silly or as poignantly substantial as some of Hayes Theatre's more recent offerings, Side Show just didn't match the standard Hayes has gotten us used to.

Hayes Theatre presents Side Show to Oct 16.