At first I must admit I was a little apprehensive about going to see this show because many of the musical numbers being performed on the night I had seen before on stage in venues such as the Wales Millennium Centre and the West End. I was a little skeptical that they would not meet the standard of those performed on the West End and I must admit some of the numbers in the first half did seem to lack some strength, however having said that, you have to remember that they do not have a full ensemble to support them.
The standard of singing was very good and very much appreciated by the St David’s Hall audience and it is because of the quality of the singing and variety of West End songs that the audience stayed captivated for the two and a half hour performance. Beyond the Barricade consists of four musical marvels – David Fawcett, who performs as well as introduces each section of songs, Andy Reiss, who puts the show together and plays keyboard with the band, Rebecca Vere and Katie Leeming who not only have impeccable voices but have all played principal parts and the stage production of Les Miserables but also sang with the ensemble of the film version too.

The show celebrates a wide range of musicals and the first half ranges from the traditional musicals such as Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Carousel and Jesus Christ Superstar finishing with a medley of songs from We Will Rock You, Jersey Boys and Mamma Mia. The highlight of the first half for me was the rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone from the classic musical Carousel which really did make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.
The second half started with The Lion King followed in my personal opinion with one of the best songs of the night ‘Always Look on the Bright side of Life’ from the Monty Python Musical Spamalot. It was a brilliant song that was performed perfectly with added comic timing that left the audience laughing and joining in.
However, the cherry on top of the cake was definitely the musical numbers from Les Miserables, with performances of ‘At the end of the Day, I Dreamed a Dream, On my Own, Bring Him Home, Master of the House and One Day More’. Considering the numbers of cast usually included on the West End production of Les Miserables, the four singers from Beyond The Barricade stepped up to the plate and delivered a powerful and emotional performance which was simply an astonishing and spectacular performance to witness.
Let’s hope that Beyond the Barricade and all its singers are able to continue for many years more and delight us further with their wonderful musical talent and voices.

Beyond The Barricade is currently on a nationwide tour of the UK appearing at a number of different venues. You can view the tour dates via this link to their website: http://www.beyondthebarricade.com/tour