THE much loved musical Fiddler on the Roof currently running at the Bristol Hippodrome is very much a home-grown affair, from Bristol’s own award winning Bloc Productions.

The musical theatre company has a loyal following in the city and has regularly performed on the Hippodrome stage since 1956.

Although an ‘amateur’ company, this production, directed by Alex Turasiewicz, pulled out all the stops and delivered an evening of terrific entertainment.

This was helped in part by the ambitious size of the cast, with an 80 strong ensemble including a double casting of 44 children who looked completely at home on the big stage.

Big songs were handled with confidence by the cast and live orchestra including Sunrise Sunset, If I Were A Rich Man and Matchmaker.

Fiddler on the Roof is set in the small village of Anatevka in imperial Russia and tells the story of one man, Tevye’s, attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions in the face of his strong-willed daughters who have their own ideas about marriage and love.

This is played out against a backdrop of the harassment of the Jewish community.

The role of Tevye is crucial to get right in this play, as so much hangs on it, and actor Simon Vardakis was a stand-out for me.

His comic timing was excellent, but he also managed to portray in the second half the sadness of a man being forced from his home.

His wife Golde, played by Lucy Pope, was another highlight and had one of the strongest singing voices on the night.

The entire cast, including eldest daughters Grace Macdonald, Katherine Sharp and Sarah Huckle and suitors Alex Milner, Sam Ward and Lawrence Haynes, brought an energy to proceedings.

Special mention must go to the choreography, under Naomi Jeffrey, which was at times worthy of any West End production.

The only aspect that perhaps marked the show out as more amateur were the sets, which at times were too one-dimensional.

Overall a great night out, with just the right mix of joy (mostly the first half) and sadness.

  • Fiddler On The Roof is at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday, October 8. Tickets from £11.90. Concessions available at certain performances. Go to atgtickets.com/bristol or call 0844 8713012 for tickets.