White Christmas - Review

The Mill at Sonning

****

Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin

Book by David Ives and Paul Blake

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Nic Myers, Connor Hughes, Gabriella Williams and Jason Kajdi

White Christmas, that perennial festive favourite is given a delightful treatment at The Mill Theatre in Sonning. Based on the 1954 classic movie, the stage iteration of this yuletide charmer was only penned in 2000 and yet, with its score of some of Irving Berlin’s greatest songs, the show feels as though it has been around forever.

Jonathan O’Boyle directs an accomplished cast through the wonderfully corny plot that's all about love and loyalty, through the prism of two nationally famous ex-US Army singers who set about trying to woo the sister act of two lesser known chanteuses. Set, for the most part, in snowy Vermont in a 1950s December, the visual white Christmas charm that Hollywood's cameras could create has to be imagined here. O’Boyle however helms his cast and crew magnificently and theatrical magic really does descend onto this intimate auditorium by the Thames.

Elliot Allinson, Connor Hughes, Nic Myers and Gabriella Williams play the four star-crossed leads and they forge a terrific chemistry within this show that is little more than a Yuletide whirl through some of the American Songbook’s favourites. The two guys set the scene with Happy Holidays, while Myers and Williams have their chance to shine early on with Sisters. Perhaps the greatest singing surprise of the evening is Shirley Jameson’s act-one take on Let Me Sing And I’m Happy, a glorious celebration of life and humanity that’s powerfully performed. And of course, as the proceedings conclude, there’s a glorious singalong of the show’s eponymous title number.

The design and staging is ingenious for The Mill’s compact space, with Gary Lloyds choreography an equal treat as the cast of only 14 souls fill the stage with perfectly drilled movement. If there is one criticism, it is that the floor of the stage is too soft and sound-absorbent to really project the aural magnificence of the show’s several tap-numbers, not doing justice to the cast’s remarkable talents. Tucked away out of sight, Jae Alexander's seven-piece band make fine work of Berlin's compositions.

One is left smiling throughout White Christmas – it is a delightfully festive fantasy!

Runs until 25th January 2025

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Barnum - Review

Watermill Theatre, Newbury

*****

Music by Cy Coleman

Lyrics by Michael Stewart

Book by Mark Bramble

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Matt Rawle and the cast of Barnum

Barnum at Newbury’s Watermill Theatre sets a very high bar for the nation’s musical theatre productions opening this summer. Blessed with a balmy evening in the theatre’s glorious garden, the cast offer up a mise-en-scene of juggling and other circus treats before curtain-up. And then, almost like a Tardis, the bijou, balconied auditorium of the Watermill becomes a 19th century American Big Top and the audience are transported into an evening not just of humbug and balderdash but of the work of a company of gifted performers delivering theatrical perfection. The Watermill has long been recognised for its outstanding actor-muso interpretation of some of the greatest shows. With Barnum, its cast are now required to be quintuple-threats with circus-skills added to their remarkable talents.

Matt Rawle leads the show as P.T. Barnum in a performance of sublime magnificence. Arguably the best Barnum this country has seen since Michael Crawford created the role some 43 years ago Rawle brings verve, wit, musical talent as well as the high-wire skills demanded of the first act’s closing number. Rawle is not just flim-flam. His pathos is heartbreakingly exquisite and the chemistry created between him and Monique Young’s Charity Barnum has to be seen to be believed. These two actors convince us of their East Coast credentials and through a clearly bumpy marriage, display a love for each other that is credible and moving. Rawle of course has the lion’s share of the songs, the tongue-twisting demands of which he smoothly masters. Young is equally vocally majestic, with the pair’s duet The Colors Of My Life evoking tears and smiles in equal measure from the audience.

Matt Rawle and Monique Young

The pair are surrounded by excellence in the show’s company. Tania Mathurin delivers a wittily perceptive take on Joice Heth, “the oldest woman in the world”, while Penny Ashmore is an enchanting Jenny Lind, “the Swedish Nightingale”. Not only an accomplished harpist, Ashmore’s soprano voice is thrilling in its power and purity. Fergus Rattigan is appropriately energetic as General Tom Thumb, while the four circus performers in the show’s ensemble, Kiera Brunton, Dan Holland, Emily Odunsi and André Rodrigues display strength, beauty and breathtaking agility in their creation of the circus-ring experience.

The creative work that has gone into this production is of the highest standard. Jonathan O’Boyle directs with flair and sensitivity paying attention to the finest details of the show’s nuanced tale. Oti Mabuse’s choreography, squeezed into the Watermill’s compact space is a delight – and a nod too to Josh Barnett who not only plays the Ringmaster but is also the show’s onstage musical director, seeing  Cy Coleman’s melodies done to perfection. Lee Newby’s designs are a treat as are Amy Panter's skills in circus direction, the whole cast and crew delivering flawless entertainment.

Head down to Newbury and join the circus!

Runs until 8th September

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Pippin - Review

Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London

****

Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Book by Roger O. Hirson

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Patricia Hodge

In what was quite possibly the finest vocal interpretation of this show to be heard on this side of the Atlantic, Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin played to a packed Theatre Royal Drury Lane for two nights only.

Written in the 1970s as part-allegory against the Vietnam War, Pippin is a curious work that was never to achieve commercial success in the West End. Unquestionably a show of two-halves, act one is a magnificent pastiche of the medieval court of Charlemagne with grand romance, intrigue and glamour and some of Schwartz’s finest compositions. The second half in contrast tails off into a quirky domestic love story that lacks voltage and excitement. One can understand how, outside musical theatre enthusiasts, the show has failed to gain traction in front of large-scale British audiences.

All that being said, the cast that Jonathan O’Boyle has assembled for this concert production were sensational. Jac Yarrow stepped up to the title role and from his sublime handling of Corner Of The Sky early in the show, his credentials were defined. Alex Newell is flown in from the USA to take on the challenging role of Leading Player. Newell brings charisma and strength to a part that demands pinpoint timing alongside strong vocal presence and delivers magnificently. Zizi Strallen plays Fastrada, Pippin’s scheming stepmother. Strallen only knows world-class performance values and her balletic take on the evil queen is sensational. She also knocks her big solo, Spread A Little Sunshine straight out of the park.

The evening’s biggest delight however is in Patricia Hodge’s take on Berthe, Pippin’s elderly grandmother. Her number No Time At All is perhaps the most glorious celebration of life to be found in the entire musical theatre canon. Hodge delivers the song and its singalong chorus to note-perfect precision, with a power that belies her years. Lucie Jones is given the spotlight after the interval as Catherine, Pippin’s love interest. Jones of course is flawless in her singing but she’s battling against a storyline that defies credibility.

The production’s choreography was ambitious in its Fosse-tribute intentions - but while the dancers’ talents were unquestioned, they needed far more rehearsal time to pull off Fosse, well. 

Never say never, but it is unlikely that Pippin will ever sound as good in London as what O’Boyle has achieved at Drury Lane this week. A neat touch saw a 50-strong choir of ArtsEd’s finest adding impressive vocal heft throughout the evening. Equally Chris Ma’s directing of the London Musical Theatre Orchestra was spot-on throughout.

Pippin’s 50th anniversary concert production was a memorable musical theatre treat.

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Cruel Intentions - Review

The Other Palace, London

****

Created by Jordan Price, Lindsey Rosin & Roger Kumble

Based on the original film by Roger Kumble

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Choreographer and associate director Gary Lloyd

Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky and the cast of Cruel Intentions

In its London premier, Cruel Intentions is a cracking night at the theatre.

More playlist than musical, this homage to the 1990s and translated from the screen is a ghastly tale about horrible people, but set to some banging tunes. Les Liaisons Dangereuses was the inspiration for Roger Kumble’s 1999 movie - a film about naïfs, exploiters and the exploited and the challenges of adolescents discovering their sexuality.

Driving the show is Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky as Kathryn with an energy and powerhouse presence that electrifies. McCaulsky’s West End credentials are impeccable and when she’s on stage she classily owns every scene. Alongside McCaulsky in the female leads are two debutantes  Abbie Budden and Rose Galbraith as Annette and Cecile respectively. Both young women shine, with Galbraith in particular displaying excellent comic timing in her numbers. Daniel Bravo completes the quartet of leads in the complex role of Sebastian, a young man who struggles when feelings of true love catch up with his hitherto predatory instincts.

The company make fine work of anthems such as Kiss Me, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Losing My Religion and The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony powerfully supported by Denise Crowley’s 4-piece band.

Jonathan O’Boyle directs with wit, assisted by Gary Lloyd who also choreographs - there are few better than Lloyd for translating modern pop and rock classics into dance.

Don't look too closely at the cliched plot - just wallow in this glorious tribute to the 90s.

Runs until 14th April

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Looking Good Dead - Review

Churchill Theatre, Bromley

****

Written by Peter James

Adapted by Shaun McKenna

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Adam Woodyatt and Laurie Brett

Looking Good Dead offers a cocktail of irresistible elements that make for fine modern theatre. A story from Peter James’ Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series and acted by stage stars and EastEnders icons Adam Woodyatt and Laurie Brett all contribute to a gripping tale.

The play starts with a young female sex worker, found dead with her throat slashed. As the plot evolves, Shaun McKenna's adaptation of James’ novel takes the audience on a gripping, moving tale that as well as encompassing the thrill of a murder mystery, also explores complex family emotions of love, secrets and deceit, against a stomach-churning backdrop of violent pornography and abuse.

Woodyatt’s take on protagonist Tom Bryce reveals the darkness of human beings. His is an innocent man, a good citizen and a loving father who has worked hard to provide for the family. The play’s plot is surprising, plumbing unexpected emotional depths as the first act outlines family conflicts that contribute to the plot’s unfolding after the interval. Secrets maybe the shadows of the soul but justice ultimately prevails. James tells us that everyone has their dark side, no one is innocent and that no good deed goes unpunished. But there is also the message that through the darkness there is light and hope.

Not just a thriller, director Jonathan O’Boyle extracts some well-played comic moments too, that all combine in an evening of cracking entertainment.

Runs until 23rd April, then continues on tour

The Last Five Years - Review

Garrick Theatre, London

***

Music, lyrics and book by Jason Robert Brown

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Molly Lynch

For The Last Five Years, the last eighteen months have seen this show albeit skewered by the pandemic, transfer from a glorious run on London’s fringe at the Southwark Playhouse to the commercial bear-pit of the West End, taking up a month’s residence at the Garrick.

The artistic genius of its performers remains. Slightly matured from their south London opening, Molly Lynch and Oli Higginson remain excellent as time-crossed lovers Cathy and Jamie, famously charting their five year relationship in opposing time dimensions. As Jamie moves forward from impetuous passion to duplicitous deceit, so does Cathy follow a reverse arc, opening with the grief of a shattered marriage and closing with her deliriously sincere and hopeful Goodbye Until Tomorrow. 

Molly and Oli are indeed magnificent - but not for no reason has this curiosity of a show struggled to even open on Broadway. The intense magic of Jonathan O’Boyle’s work at Southwark dissipates under the scrutiny of a multi-tiered West End house, its cast now removed to behind their proscenium arch. What this production defines is that The Last 5 Years is essentially a chamber work and that Brown’s ingenious dissection of a love’s birth and subsequent demise is best savoured up-close. While some of his show’s numbers are barnstorming roofraisers (Lynch delivers a knockout I Can Do Better Than That) overall, the piece struggles to captivate.

This Garrick production is one for the fans, undoubtedly a gathering of genius in both its cast and creative crew. But much like Jamie and Cathy’s love, something has died here.

Click here to read my 5* review of this production at Southwark Playhouse 

Runs until 17th October

Phot credit: Helen Maybanks

The Last Five Years - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


*****


Music, lyrics and book by Jason Robert Brown
Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Molly Lynch

In one of the show’s finest versions in recent years, Jonathan O’Boyle’s take on The Last Five Years makes for an evening of simply exquisite musical theatre in what has to be a definitive production of this complex and unusual work.

The narrative is simple but mind bending - Jason Robert Brown, the show’s creator projects a doomed five-year romance from two conflicting timelines. Jamie’s arc follows a natural timeline from first date right up to closing down the couple’s shared bank account. Cathy, by contrast, is introduced to us picking up the pieces of her shattered marriage and from there Brown plays with his audience. Cathy sings her life in reverse, ending on the excruciatingly painful number – to us at least - of her delirious joy following her first date with Jamie.

Oli Higginson

With its complex conceits, the show is not everyone’s cup of tea and indeed has yet to enjoy a run on Broadway. But at the Southwark Playhouse, O’Boyle much like an alchemist, fuses an array of brilliant base elements into a truly splendid show.

A grand piano sits on a revolve as the two performers Molly Lynch and Oli Higginson deliver the piece. The actors not only both play the instrument (and Lynch the ukulele and Higginson the guitar too) but dance upon and around the piano too. The magnificent Yamaha also proves a deceptively common denominator to the audience, cruelly appearing to unite these two out-of-lovers, when in reality there arms are only linked to perform some neatly arranged 4-handed interpretations of Brown’s slickly intuitive melodies.

Lynch’s performing skills have long been held in awe by this website and for a woman whose name sets ridiculously high levels of anticipation even before the curtain goes up, at the Southwark Playhouse she exceeds those expectations by a country mile. Capturing both passion and pathos, Lynch stuns us with her belt in A Summer In Ohio, yet breaks our hearts at both the show’s open and closing moments, as she so convincingly plays a woman who has either either seen, or is destined to see, love crumble and slip through her fingers. Elegant in white, Lynch is every inch the young out-of-towner transformed into a sassy yet vulnerable Manhattanite.

Barely graduated from the Guildhall School Of Music And Drama, Higginson displays a maturity beyond his years in his inhabiting of Jewish Jamie’s crotch-driven persona. As Jamie’s deceit becomes apparent one is left wondering if the man is ever capable of sincere love, with Higginson capturing not only his passion and lies, but also that complex puppy-like charm that endears him to the audience in the show’s early numbers, but which starts to evaporate as soon as the wedding band is around his finger.

The range of musical styles that Brown has included within the 90minute one-act delight are a treat for all. This is not a show bogged down in introspective balladry, but rather a feast of melodies that range from rock and blues through to klezmer and with as much a sprinkling of humour as well as tragedy thrown in too. Complementing the two on-stage pianists, above the proceedings George Dyer, who has also orchestrated this revival, leads his 4 piece band immaculately.

O’Boyle’s direction is ingenious and economic. With both players on stage for almost the entire piece, every glance and nuance is perfectly posed to reflect their realtime non-interaction with each other, save for the show’s centrepiece, The Next Ten Minutes, that sees the pair marry in Central Park.

Lee Newby’s simple striking set is elegant and underplayed – slick and jazzy with a marquee of "L5Y" as a backdrop, but which seems to soften in the productions more melancholy moments. Likewise, Jamie Platt’s lighting plots are equally and as imaginatively, effective.

This take on The Last Five Years is one of the most gorgeously presented pieces of musical theatre to be found in London right now. Actors and creatives at the very top of their game, it is unmissable!

Runs until 28th March

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Aspects of Love - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


***


Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart
Based on the novel by David Garnett
Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle

Jerome Pradon and Madalena Alberto

In a rare London revival, Jonathan O’Boyle brings Aspects of Love down the M6 from Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre to the Southwark Playhouse, delivering a show that wavers between a confection of complex cliché and a homage to the male ego.

Driving the narrative is Alex, (Felix Mosse), a man possessed with such apparent animal magnetism that he is rendered irresistible to the opposite sex from adolescent girls through to women approaching their third age. But for all that Alex may have been imbued with this Lothario-like psyche, it hasn’t rubbed off on Mosse, a young man who lacks both gravitas and vocal presence. As a consequence, too much of this production, especially in the second act, becomes literally in-credible and at times tedious. And in the #MeToo era especially there needs to be questions raised about performing a show that references a mutual love, even if non-consummated, between a 34 year old man and a child 19 years his junior.

Most of O’Boyle’s company turn in sound performances with fine work in particular from Kelly Price as Rose, the show’s leading female and Eleanor Walsh as Jenny, her daughter. The acting accolades of the night however belong to the cast’s more senior members with Jerome Pradon putting in a polished turn as George, Alex’s uncle and an incorrigible romantic. A man who hopelessly falls for any woman who chances to wear the gown worn by his first late wife, Pradon’s priapic predator masterfully steals his every scene, his acting through both song and presence proving immaculate. Madalena Alberto plays Giulietta, George’s Venetian lover. Alberto is the very essence of excellence in a role that is woefully too small for her sensational talent.

Aspects of Love, inhabiting that obscure fairy-tale world of love that Sondheim mastered far more effectively in A Little Night Music, demands flawlessness across the board if its creaking conceits are to work and the cynical 21st century disbeliefs of its audiences be suitably suspended. This requirement extends to the band too, for while Richard Bates’ trio put in a fine shift on Lloyd Webber’s score, the noble Lord's melodies crave a bigger ensemble of musicians if they are to soar effectively.

Fringe treatments of musical theatre can often be magical. Here however, a difficult story makes for an evening of uneven entertainment.

Runs until 9th February 2019

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Peter Pan - Review

Park Theatre, London


****


Written by J.M.Barrie
Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Alexander Vlahos

In an exciting and ambitious move for one of London’s leading Off-West End venues, the Park Theatre splash the cash on their Christmas production and with flying experts Foy on board, have arranged for Peter Pan and Wendy to soar through the space of the Park 200. And if the look of wonder in the eyes of the kids in the audience on press night is anything to go by, it has been money well spent.

Jonathan O’Boyle directs a cast who (except for a few tiny tweaks) stay true to J.M. Barrie’s original play script, itself a precursor to his famous novel. Nickcolia King-N’Da plays the boy who never grows up in a muscular, yet impish performance that convinces charmingly. Indeed – at the end of the story (spoiler alert for those who don’t know the yarn) as Mrs Darling welcomes her returned children back into the fold, while Peter remains outside, it would take a hard-heart in the audience not to shed a tear, not only at the moment’s classic traditionality but also, tragically, at its timeless relevance.

Alexander Vlahos takes on the traditional double-hander of Mr Darling / Captain Hook and delivers a menacing delight. Barrie clearly had a beef against the patriarchy in his writing, and while this production is most definitely not a pantomime (whilst remaining wonderful family theatre), as Hook receives his deserved “boos” from the audience, one cannot help but grin. Elsewhere, aside from the three Darling children, there is much doubling up amongst the cast. They are all good – but a special shout-out to Alfie Webster who aside from playing a couple of Hook’s pirates, does a sensational job in giving canine life ito the Darlings’ dog Nana.

A mention too for the exceptional sound and set design teams. Adrienne Quartly’s sound design, not only gives a moving (literally) twist to the free spirit of Tinkerbell, but she also conjures up the locations of London, Mermaid Lagoon and Hook’s galleon wondrously. Gregor Donnelly’s set and costume design, likewise, is sensational. Clever backdrops and a beautifully timbered floor create the basics for all sorts of surprises. Nana (created by Matthew Hutchinson) is a gem of a creation – and as for the crocodile, ingenious and snappy!

The Park’s Peter Pan is beautifully festive theatre.

Runs until 5th January 2019

Photo credit: Chris Gardner

Pippin - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


*****

Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Book by Roger O. Hirson

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Jonathan Carlton and Genevieve Nicole

ON MARCH 7 I WILL BE HOSTING A POST-SHOW Q&A WITH JONATHAN O'BOYLE AND THE PIPPIN CAST 

JOIN US!

Transferring down from Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre, Jonathan O’Boyle’s production of Pippin, now playing at the Southwark Playhouse, has lost none of the pizzazz and poignancy that marked it out as one of the nation's finest fringe productions of last year.

One of Stephen Schwartz’s early compositions, the show is loosely based around a group of travelling players who tell a fictionalised story of Pippin, the (real life) younger son of the emperor Charlemagne who conquered much of continental Europe many centuries ago. To describe any more of the plot would only confuse readers - suffice to say that Schwartz spices his tale with themes of politics, war, love and above all, self-discovery.

In Pippin however it is not so much what Schwartz is saying, but rather the way he says it that makes the musical such a stand out sensation. His songs are, for the most part, perfectly structured harmonies while the Bob Fosse inspired choreography was to showcase Fosse's stylish and distinctive class well in advance of his more famous Cabaret and Chicago outings.

O’Boyle has transferred virtually his entire Manchester cast to London*, with Genevieve Nicole heading the lineup as the Leading Player and bringing a powerful Mephistophelean nuance to the part. Statuesque, Nicole bestrides the sage with stunning song and dance.

The title role presents an interesting challenge. Pippin’s journey through the show is from privileged prince to commoner - travelling an arc that includes love, murder and power, along with a fair measure of bungling haplessness. Jonathan Carlton is perfectly cast, rising to his part’s musical challenges with a particularly gorgeous take on the act one closer of Morning Glow. 

In a glorious moment of (scripted) self-indulgence Mairi Barclay is Pippin’s incorrigible grandmother Berthe. As this most glorious of grannies celebrates her wisdom and old age in No Time At All, the number evolves into an audience singalong, with Barclay hilariously bringing the fourth wall crashing down around her. Barclay also offers a neat double-up as Pippin’s cunningly seductive stepmother Fastrada.

Fine work too from Tessa Kadler as Catherine, a widowed commoner who after the interval guides Pippin in the ways of love. Kadler’s interpretations of Schwartz's Kind of Woman and Love Song are particularly delicate turns, serving to contrast the realities of everyday humanity with the bombast of Pippin’s earlier life.

But above all it is the music and dance that drive a successful Pippin, lifting its (sometimes tortuous) narrative to a higher plane. Maeve Black’s set is an ingenious use of Southwark’s space, the concepts behind her designs proving simple yet striking and with footlights around the thrust's perimeter, the vaudeville suggestion is convincing. 

William Whelton’s choreography is audacious, breathtaking and sexy and yet incorporating beautifully executed nods to Fosse - the Manson Trio routine in act one proving especially fine. Above the stage Zach Flis’ band captures Schwartz’s complex melodies perfectly.

This Pippin is one of those productions rarely seen on the fringe. It captures the sparkle of Broadway, transporting it to south London in a whirl of unmissable musical theatre.

Magic to do? Not half!

* Amongst last year's cast was Olivia Faulkner who was an outstanding dance captain. Olivia died tragically in November and donations to the foundation established in her name to further mental health support in the dance world can be made here.

My review of the Manchester production can be read here.

Runs until 24th March

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Hair - Review

The Vaults, London

****

Music by Galt MacDermot

Book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni

Shekinah MacFarlane and the cast

Transferring down from Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre, Jonathan O’Boyle’s production of Hair is an exciting revival of a show that was to define so much of the 1960s. Following a “tribe” of Manhattan hippies Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt Macdermot’s musical explored a range of modern music genres as a narrative evolves that focuses on racial integration and social and political challenge. The story plays out under an overarching theme of copious drug consumption in New York while on the other side of the world the much loathed Vietnam conflict rages. Hair blazed a trail for challengingly political musical theatre - indeed, swap the slaughter and sacrifice of Vietnam for the ravages of HIV and Hair becomes an arguable precursor to Rent.

While the show’s themes remain noble in intent, Hair is very much a museum piece. A Trump themed intro (and even a re-written song from Rado to reference POTUS #45) fail to convincingly shift the show’s message into the 21st century though perhaps this is not surprising with the nature of protest itself having changed over the decades. Fuelled by the internet and social media, the world has evolved into a far more cold and cynical place from the flower-powered idealism of 50 years ago.

That being said, Hair remains a cracking cultural milestone and while Ragni and Rado’s cooky storyline is probably best savoured under the influence of (modest) intoxication, it is clear that O’Boyle has assembled a stunning company for his revival of a show that is packed with iconic songs.

In what is very much an ensemble piece that demands a strong company throughout, the Tribe are led by close friends Berger and Claude. Berger remains committed to the peace-loving hippie cause as the show’s arc sees Claude ultimately enlist. Andy Coxon brings a commandingly lithe power to Berger as Robert Metson’s Claude presents a far more complex character (albeit one who can give a gorgeous Mancunian twang to Manchester, England!) While we may not understand Claude’s motive for enlisting, Metson ensures that at all times his character demands our sympathy.

The casting is excellent and at times, sensational. There is standout work from Shekinah Macfarlane whose Dionne kicks off proceedings with an ethereally energetic Aquarius. Laura Johnson's Sheila accompanies herself on guitar in a heartbreakingly gorgeous interpretation of Good Morning Starshine while in the first half, a white gloved Jammy Kasongo as Hud briefly electrifies with Colored Spade as Natalie Green puts in a tiny, perfect cameo as Mom.

Andy Coxon and the cast

The driving energy of this revival is powered by Gareth Bretheton’s 5 piece band and especially Tom Hutchison’s stunning work on drums. Macdermot’s melodies span a range and fusion of styles and in one of the most impressive bands to be seen in off West End theatre for quite some time, Bretherton gives the score and the show a pulsating, rock-based intensity.

As a venue The Vaults is potentially perfect. Draped in ribbons and yet, literally tucked under the rumbling tracks of Waterloo Station, it hints at the grimy squalor of a squat. Acoustically however, the challenges of a railway basement have been well addressed with the show’s sound design (Calum Robinson and Max Perryment) proving virtually perfect.   

For some in the audience Hair will offer nostalgia, for others chance to discover, or re-discover, a musical that was to break the cultural mould in so many ways, in the process giving rise to some modern yet timeless numbers. It’s a great night at the theatre.

Runs until 13th January 2018
Photo credit: Claire Bilyard

Pippin - Review

Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

*****

Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Book by Roger O. Hirson

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Genevieve Nicole leads the Pippin company

Pippin closed last night at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre with, yet again, this Northern powerhouse of fringe theatre delivering a stunning take on a Broadway Tony-winner.

Written by a young Stephen Schwartz in the 1960s, Pippin is an improbably glorious fusion of style and philosophy. The young lad of the title was the real life son of the Middle Ages’ King Charlemagne who, in pursuit of a possibly futile attempt at social improvement, murdered his father. The show is as much about politics and tyranny as it is about a young man’s quest for himself although, in all honesty, the plot actually defies any further description.

Good musical theatre hangs on a study of the human condition, expressed through song and dance and with the story of Pippin being such a mind-boggling take on humanity, it can only really work when performed to absolute perfection. To his credit Jonathan O’Boyle assembled a wonderful company to do just that.

Genevieve Nicole put in a towering performance as the show’s Leading Player, a troubadour who drives the narrative, dancing in and out of the show’s fourth wall. Vocally flawless, impeccable in her dance and movement, and with a stage presence that redefined compelling, Nicole whipped both cast and audience into shape. Bringing a smouldering sexuality to her turn, with an aura that suggested Joel Grey’s Emcee in Cabaret, her Leading Player provided the energy that propels the show and deserves recognition in the UK Theatre Awards.

As Pippin, Jonathan Carlton captured just the right combination of bungling nervous naïveté, alongside an emerging sense of purpose and self-belief. Carlton was also handed two of Schwartz’s finest songs ever, with the first half’s Corner Of The Sky and Morning Glow - tender perceptive lyrics and swooping melodies that soar through some of the most intoxication key changes in the canon.

Jonathan Carlton

This Hope Mill company dripped with standout performances. In a coup de theatre, Mairi Barclay played both Fastrada (Pippin’s stepmother) and Berthe (his grandmother). As Fastrada, Barclay exuded a beautifully (and hilariously Glaswegian) voiced provocation to her husband’s barely controlled libido – while in playing Berthe she stole the show with her bow-legged interpretation of No Time At All. This particular song’s lyrics are the are one of the most perceptive testaments to old age and if there is but one criticism of O’Boyle it is that he axed one of its verses. If Pippin transfers to London (and to misquote Berthe, I hope that it surely does) this omission should be re-instated.

Appearing in the second half, Tessa Kadler’s Catherine took one of Schwartz’s most challenging characters (a young widowed mum who introduces Pippin to love) and offered up a perfect interpretation. The Love Song duet between the pair is a delightful interjection of carefully crafted romance amidst some of the plot’s latter quirks and quacks.

Alongside O’Boyle, his creative team have proved equally wondrous. William Whelton’s Fosse-inspired choreography is spectacular (the routine in Glory proving particularly impressive) – with fine onstage leadership from his dance captain Olivia Faulkner. Lighting the show, Aaron Dootson made imaginative use of marquee style footlights as well as neatly arrayed lighting banks that with well deployed smoke transformed the old mill into a Vaudevillian playhouse. Upstage, Zach Flis’ 9 piece band were spot on in their handling of the score.

If transfers are being considered, this production would sit beautifully in London’s Southwark Playhouse, but Pippin is over now and its players have moved on. They should however be a troupe that is very proud of what they have achieved: creating another masterpiece of musical theatre on the nation’s fringe.

Photo credit: Anthony Robling