Following the story of 27-year-old Peter Carter, played by the wonderful Thomas Dennis, as he faces the brink of death, falls in love, and ultimately has to fight for his right to continue living, A Matter of Life and Death was a fast-paced, fun and flamboyant retelling of the 1946 film directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
The performers grabbed the audience's attention from the start with their opening number to set the scene, rapidly followed by a scene that chucked you straight into the heat of the action.
The whole show was nicely broken up by songs throughout which kept the action on stage flowing, and special mention must go to Polly Lister for her spellbinding singing voice.
Each song was accompanied by an array of musical instruments that formed a ferociously good band, however it was difficult at times to appreciate each individual instrument when they were all played simultaneously at a rather loud volume.
The highlight of the play for me was the character of Conductor 71, brought to life by Michael Hugo, who stole the show and had the entire auditorium laughing throughout with his debonair French accent and incredible facial expressions.
There was a good level of comedy throughout which helped to hold the audience's attention and create moments of release from the plot, however it wasn't so excessive that it stole from the other aspects of the performance which was enjoyable to watch.
With simple projections and vibrations the atmosphere was brilliantly created during the storm scene, and the flashes of lightning were enough to get anybody's heart racing.
The set for this show was fairly minimalistic with a simple revolving circle centre-stage, however it was extremely effective as a stairway to heaven, and provided an interesting round-in-the-round feel.
My main concern with A Matter of Life and Death is that of the storyline itself – it was an interesting plot yet strangely developed with how quickly Peter and June (Kaylah Copeland) fell in love, despite never having seen each other before, and it didn't seem to quite fit with the other aspects of the show.
However, overall it was a wonderful evening and I would definitely recommend giving this show a watch, especially if you are into music and jazz songs.
A Matter of Life and Death is at The New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-Under-Lyme until Saturday 19th April, and tickets for the show can be purchased here.
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