FOR their final year end of term performance Year 6 from the Gateway School Great Missenden offered a delightful rendition of this little known musical.

With Wendy O’Hare and Rebecca Izard responsible for direction and music, and Wendy together with Susannah Holroyd arranged the dance sequences. The hero is Johnny who with his friends find a shopping trolley belonging to a well played Mrs Tachyon which can time-travel back to World War II.

They find an old newspaper which records a bomb falling on their village with the loss of many lives and they have to thwart the Men in Black who were convincingly sinister together with the Home Guard.

The youngsters switch back and forwards to the present with the help of some very clever lighting and the sound effects especially for the air raid was superb. The songs were lively and well rehearsed from all the chorus. The well disciplined children were some of the best I have encountered who sang their hearts out. It was great to see some of the boys taking part in the very lively dances which were well choreographed.

The show ran for two nights and in order to give the children an opportunity to play a lead role the principals changed on the second night when the show also became Jenny and the Bomb for that performance.

As there were so many talented youngsters it would be unfair to single anyone out for special treatment. I would however, like to give a special mention to the three young stagehands who were brilliant. The set changes had to be quick as the time-travel happened each time in a flash.

They were some of the best I have seen, confident, competent and unobtrusive. My one small criticism was that the sound was too loud at times for the young soloists who didn’t have very strong voices hence some of the words were lost. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves throughout and the appreciative audience clapped and cheered. This was a great evening’s entertainment.