BRIGADOON

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

★★★★

“The music and dance are the highlights, stylishly adding extra layers of the story onto the dialogue”

Lerner and Loewe’s “Brigadoon” hasn’t been performed in London for over thirty-five years, and the word, from some quarters, seems to be that there must be a reason for this. In short, though, Drew McOnie’s magical interpretation at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is a strong counterargument as to why it is definitely high time for a revival. Adapted and (kind of) updated by Rona Munro it almost makes sense of its impossibly whimsical narrative but, and goes along with it, creating an enchanting mix of music, dance and drama. We are swept up into the fantasy of it all, which in itself is quite a feat. It is the sort of plot that, if closely analysed, the holes picked in it would cause it to collapse completely.

The echoing sound of a big drum kicks off the evening, followed by haunting bagpipes. Basia Bińkowska’s multi-levelled, lush and heather-wrapped set merges into the park’s natural background. Two American fighter pilots appear over the brow of the hill. The romantically inclined Tommy (Louis Gaunt) is wounded while the more down-to-earth Jeff (Cavan Clarke) is rather unsuccessfully trying to get their bearings. They have literally dropped out of the sky and according to their map they appear to be nowhere. From this ‘nowhere’, however, the village of Brigadoon appears out of… well… nowhere. We have no alternate but to suspend our disbelief – the effect is quite intoxicating as we are surrounded by the glorious harmonies of the villagers. McOnie’s choreography is beautifully balletic, yet it somehow belongs to the world of Scottish reels and bagpipes too.

Brigadoon only exists for one day every one hundred years, thanks to a divine spell cast by the local minister two hundred years previously to protect it from the outside world. The townsfolk are forbidden to leave, otherwise the village would disappear forever. An outsider can only stay if they fall in love with a local, so strongly enough that they are prepared to give up everything for their love; ‘…after all, laddie, if ye love someone deeply, anythin’ is possible!’. The pilots spend pretty much all of act one unaware of this phenomenon, but when they discover it, have quite different reactions. This is very much a fairy tale, but also a love story burning away at its heart, with enough shades of darkness to prevent it from being too honey dewed.

The music and dance are the highlights, stylishly adding extra layers of the story onto the dialogue. Occasionally the movement is extraneous but always spectacular, held together by musical director Laura Bangay’s twelve-piece orchestra that mixes the traditional with the contemporary. The ensemble is just as vital as the lead players who generously never pull focus from the energy that floods the stage. Gaunt’s performance is quite believable (even if his story isn’t) in his depiction of an unwavering belief in love, that is also prone to moments of self-doubt, while Clarke’s pragmatic Jeff challenges but also accommodates his co-pilots idiosyncrasies, culminating in a deeply moving finale. The excellent Georgina Onuorah gives intensity and grace to Tommy’s love interest Fiona, while Nic Myers’ flirty Meg teases with, and confuses, Jeff with uncertain sex appeal. Jasmine Jules Andrews and Gilli Jones, as the newlyweds Jean and Charlie, are an enchanting couple. Danny Nattrass, as the tragic, lovesick Harry, matches an agile personality with a true talent for dance. Like the entire cast, the movement clearly defines the emotions and intentions of the characters.

All set against Jessica Hung Han Yun’s mystically atmospheric lighting, the evening is a delight throughout. The sumptuous score is at once familiar, yet fresh, with favourites such as ‘Almost Like Being in Love’, ‘The Love of My Life’ and ‘There but for You Go I’ sealing the message. It is a glorious tribute to the power of love. Like the unwitting co-pilots who wander into Brigadoon, we cannot fail to be moved and entertained by this production. It is unashamed escapism, but once we’re hooked, we don’t want to escape it.

BRIGADOON

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Reviewed on 12th August 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Mark Senior

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

NOUGHTS AND CROSSES | ★★★ | July 2025

SHUCKED | ★★★★★ | May 2025

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF | ★★★★★ | August 2024

THE SECRET GARDEN | ★★★ | June 2024

THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE | ★★★★ | May 2024

TWELFTH NIGHT | ★★★★★ | May 2024

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES | ★★★★★ | August 2023

ROBIN HOOD: THE LEGEND. RE-WRITTEN | ★★ | June 2023

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND | ★★★★ | May 2023

LEGALLY BLONDE | ★★★ | May 2022

BRIGADOON

BRIGADOON</h3

★★★★

“It’s a heavy mix but delivered with a light flavour so it never appears overcrowded”

The ‘Bitesize Festival’ currently running at Riverside Studios is a programme of selected play-readings and comedy, showcasing new material. The name speaks for itself, reinforced by the theatre’s website: ‘Sometimes you just want to experience theatre in bite size pieces. We understand… each performance is an hour or shorter. And each is guaranteed to move, excite and entertain you’.

“The Devil’s in the Chair”, the new play from Eoin McAndrew, boldly flouts the criteria by running at just a little under two hours. Thankfully, though, McAndrew meets the other criteria with his moving and entertaining portrayal of a Northern Irish family brought, somewhat reluctantly, together for Christmas in a remote cottage in rural Donegal. An actor, comedian and writer, McAndrew is a member of the BBC Comedy Writers Room and the Royal Court Theatre’s International Playwriting Group; both accolades evidenced by the sharp dialogue he gives to the dysfunctional characters of this new piece. Adopting the powerful story telling technique of Conor McPherson, with hints of Martin McDonagh’s ‘Leenane’ trilogy, McAndrew lets his own voice come through.

Without fanfare, the cast wander onto the stage before the houselights fade and introduce themselves and the characters they are about to present. Like the other showcases at the festival, the audience are required to build the set in their own minds, aided by (perhaps unnecessary in this case) spoken stage directions from the cast. With script in hand, the five strong ensemble paint a vivid portrait of the world this family inhabit.

Saoirse (Amanda Hurwitz) is the maternal figure, not particularly liked by her three sons, who is grudgingly dragged to the backwater when she would clearly rather be back at home watching re-runs of the ‘Father Ted’ Christmas Special. The well-intentioned but misjudged family reunion is instigated by city-worker and aspiring novelist Liam (Niall McNamee) while Jamie (Matthew Duckett) wallows in self-medication, self-pity and alcohol following a, perhaps, self-induced car accident and Darragh (Cavan Clarke) is trying to rebuild his life, not helped by his siblings who are all too ready to knock him back down like fledgling bullies kicking sandcastles on the beach. This sounds like hellish company in which to spend two hours on a Sunday evening, but the natural empathy of the performers, coupled with the affectionate and sympathetic naturalism of the script make these characters quite likeable. A view initially shared by the outsider Ellen (Emma McDonald), the cottage’s proprietress who repeatedly pops over to see if everything’s alright. She soon learns that it isn’t.

Many themes are tackled including, among others, alcoholism, Catholicism, mental health, suicide, child abuse, lies and betrayal, family obligations. It’s a heavy mix but delivered with a light flavour so it never appears overcrowded. The humour simultaneously brings relief to the gravity of the situation but impels us also to lodge the issue in our heads to consider later. But for the time being the entertainment value of McAndrew’s writing draws us into a very quirky and dark soap opera.

Being a reading rather than a fully staged drama, however, the cast obviously haven’t had the luxury of time to grow into their characters. And initially there are signs of maybe not quite enough read-throughs before the piece is unveiled to the public. But once in their stride, the cast wring out the emotions and we definitely feel the impact of the play’s potential. Watch out for the title; I’m sure we’ll be seeing it again soon.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Tag Archives: Cavan Clarke

BRIGADOON

★★★★

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

BRIGADOON

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

★★★★

“The music and dance are the highlights, stylishly adding extra layers of the story onto the dialogue”