Sister Act
★★★★☆ Melodic
Broughton High School: Wed 8 – Sat 11 Apr 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Sister Act, by Forth Children’s Theatre at Broughton High School, is a tuneful production with bags of energy, featuring some exceptionally promising performers.
The 2006 musical has music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner (with additional material by Douglas Carter Beane). Aside from small tweaks to the time and place it is set, the musical largely follows the 1992 movie that inspired it.
Olivia Da Silva Labiak, Dara Omoya and Emma Ssembatya (centre) with Ayda Alcorn, Orla Harrison, Arya Chamberlain and Clodagh MacLeay. Pic Ric Brannan.
The story remains that of Deloris Van Cartier, a struggling nightclub singer who accidentally witnesses a murder and is forced to hide out in a convent until she can testify against the perpetrator. The main change is that none of the songs from the film are featured, which can throw audiences a little.
It’s all good fun, however, if showing its age in parts, and is notable for largely letting its plot speed along rather than getting too bogged down. This does, of course, depend on the particular production; there has been one in Edinburgh that lasted three hours, and another that bashed through it in well under two.
lets a talented cast shine
This version is halfway between those two extremes, which seems about right. Director Taylor Doig has conjured up a breezy, upbeat production that lets a talented cast shine.
Sister Act tends to stand or fall on its chorus of nuns, who are here a mighty ensemble more than 30 strong. (The total cast is over 40, with a great deal of crafty doubling – it’s not often you see in a programme the credit ‘lady of the night, backing singer and nun’.)
FCT’s company of Nuns. Pic: Ric Brannan.
The chorus is tuneful, vibrant and imaginatively choreographed by Mirrin Macleay. The first act’s closing number Raise Your Voice is particularly arresting.
It helps, of course, that the choir are led by Dara Omoya’s Deloris. Omoya has a genuinely tremendous voice, which is always used judiciously in the service of the drama, with no attempts at grandstanding.
Maia Baxter’s wonderfully controlled Mother Superior is another object lesson in how to use a strong voice to exemplify the meaning of the songs. Omoya and Baxter also display some fine comic timing in their interactions.
building the drama
Lillie Paul, as the timid novice nun Sister Mary Robert, also impresses with her solo The Life I Never Led, again building the drama throughout the number. Musical Director Roisin Caulfield should be congratulated for the way that the performers are always acting through song when some of these numbers could be used for just showing off.
Maisie Aitchison, Sam Gill and Jac Simpson-Hobbs. Pic Ric Brannan
Lara Shanks (the optimistic Sister Mary Patrick) and Anna Johnston (the crabby Sister Mary Lazarus) provide well-judged comic performances. They are well backed up by Rachael MacPherson and Cat Steele and an ensemble of nuns just too numerous to name. There must be a mention, however, for Olivia Da Silva Labiak and Emma Ssembatya, who are also Deloris’s backing singers in the first scene.
Curtis Jackson, the married lover of Deloris who commits the murder, is played with the appropriate sleazy menace by Ryan Guthrie. His When I Find My Baby, that lays bare the violence that lurks behind so many apparently innocent love songs, is sung with relish.
He is ably supported by William Howard, Jac Simpson-Hobbs and Maisie Aitchison as his hapless cohorts TJ, Joey and Pablo; their Lady in the Long Black Dress is another notable piece of comic nastiness.
effectively playful
Calum Caulfield’s cop Eddie is played with sympathy; his I Could Be That Guy features some notable costume changes. Nathan Fisher’s Monsignor O’Hara is effectively playful.
The entire cast are sure about who they are and what they should be doing, which certainly isn’t always the case with such a large ensemble. Perhaps it is shade too large here; at times the stage is just too full, and the choreography suffers accordingly.
Dara Omoya, Calum Caulfield, Nathan Fisher and Maia Baxter. Pic: Ric Brannan.
Gavin MacLeay’s set design is imaginative, with the stairs and balcony particularly well utilised. Transitions between scenes are generally handled quickly and smoothly. There are the odd glitches with sound and lighting, but these are to be expected on a first night.
pacy and extremely enjoyable
The use of pre-recorded backing tracks, while probably unavoidable, is unfortunate and does mean that the production lacks a little of the spontaneity and excitement that a live band can produce. A more serious problem is that there are a couple of songs that just don’t seem to sit comfortably in the ranges of the performers, which leads to some straining after notes.
Moreover, while this may essentially be a somewhat silly story, it perhaps needs to be treated a little more seriously at times. Making everything light-hearted and throwaway paradoxically does lessen the impact of the humour. It also should be remembered that the story does actually feature one murder and several more attempts.
This is, however, a production that is pacy and extremely enjoyable, and is at times sung as well as any production of Sister Act you would see on any stage.
Running time: Two hours and 20 minutes (including one interval)
Broughton High School, 29 East Fettes Ave, EH4 1EG
Wednesday 8 – Saturday 11 April 2026
Daily at 7.00 pm; Matinee Sat at 2.00 pm
Tickets and details: Book here.
Forth Children’s Theatre website: www.forthchildrenstheatre.org
Facebook: @forthchildrenstheatre
Instagram: @forthchildrenstheatre
TikTok: @forthchildrenstheatre
FCT’s Sister Act company. Pic: Ric Brannan.
ENDS
