SAVING MOZART

The Other Palace

★★★★

“Jack Chambers’ Mozart movingly shows every single hope, fear and regret”

Saving Mozart by Charli Eglinton bursts onto the stage, bringing Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart and his complex family dynamics to life and bang up to date. Though like Mozart’s actual career, it gets a little lost at points.

A modern musical about the man behind the mastery, Saving Mozart explores the complex relationships that challenge and drive him. The close bond with his equally prodigious sister Nannerl is shaken; his taskmaster father prioritises success and society over his children; his protective mother (spoiler alert) dies too soon; his rival Salieri both guides and gets in the way, and his ambitious wife Constanze pushes him on when all seems lost.

Eglinton’s writing injects humanity into the story, showing us the struggles and successes inside Mozart’s troubled mind. Satisfyingly, the women in his life are credited as the real reasons for his success. That said, the plot suffers from trying to do too much, charting his itinerant career and several complex relationships and exploring themes that sometimes go nowhere. Between that and a score bursting with songs, the core of the piece gets a little lost. This isn’t helped by some character inconsistencies. The father, Leopold, lacks a coherent character arc, instead flipping between unforgiving stage dad and regretful father figure. Salieri seems to go out of his way to hamper Mozart’s career before abruptly making amends. Even Nannerl, who dotes on Mozart in Act 1, sides entirely with her father in Act 2 despite him scuppering her life’s happiness. Even if this is what happened in real life it could be more nuanced, perhaps through more dialogue.

Eglinton’s score is fantastic, cleverly weaving in fragments of Mozart’s music and completely reinventing them within a very modern sound drawing on pop, rock, blues and even Michael Bublé. There are some very catchy songs, such as the virtuosic opening number ‘Remember Me’; devastating songs, such as the mother’s soulful ‘He’s Only a Child’; and high energy ensemble songs, such as ‘Stand Up Stand Down’. Though again, the score feels a little full and perhaps could be refined to create some breathing space.

Co-directed by Taylor Walker and Markus Olzinger, the piece is emotionally charged from the off. Mozart narrates his life as the only character breaking the fourth wall, drawing you into his troubled mind from the beginning. He also shadows his younger self, deepening the poignancy of these formative moments.

The cast is stunning. Jack Chambers’ Mozart movingly shows every single hope, fear and regret while delivering soaring yet raw vocals. Aimie Atkinson’s Nannerl exudes brilliance, wit, affection and frustration with equally nuanced vocals. Jordan Luke Gage’s smouldering Salieri absolutely sizzles with knowing cynicism and a voice to die for. Gloria Onitiri’s Anna Maria Mozart is devastatingly soulful. Izzie Monk absolutely holds her own as Little Mozart, with the stage presence and singing capability of a much older actor. The ensemble brings the energy and nails Walker’s choreography, executing a range of styles with precision and prowess, though would benefit from a bit more space. The musicians and musical direction by Robert Wicks are also fantastic, bringing the score to life with biting precision and virtuosic skill.

Justin Williams’ set design is modern and monochrome, with a big white ‘M’ dominating more familiar elements of the otherwise minimalist set (much like Mozart himself). Julia Pschedezki and Lucy K. Crew’s costumes bring haute couture to the stage, elevating 18th century ruffs and frills with enviable silhouettes and styles. This contrasts with 18th century style wigs and hair (Renate Harter) which are beautiful and complex. Sound design (Tom Marshall) is spot on, blending seamlessly with the score. Lighting design (Ben Jacobs) is at points as iconic as the action on stage.

Based on writing alone, I’m not sure if Saving Mozart achieves its aim; but the cast, score, choreography, design and direction more than make up for it in this sizzling, foot tapping, bass thumping musical that will make audiences fall in love with Mozart all over again.

SAVING MOZART

The Other Palace

Reviewed on 5th August 2025

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Danny Kaan

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

THE LIGHTNING THIEF | ★★★ | March 2025

HOMO ALONE | ★★★ | December 2024

JULIE: THE MUSICAL | ★★½ | June 2024

CRUEL INTENTIONS: THE 90s MUSICAL | ★★★★ | January 2024

A VERY VERY BAD CINDERELLA | ★★★★ | December 2023

TROMPE L’OEIL | ★★★ | September 2023

DOM – THE PLAY | ★★★★ | February 2023

GHOSTED – ANOTHER F**KING CHRISTMAS CAROL | ★★★★★ | December 2022

GLORY RIDE | ★★★ | November 2022

MILLENNIALS | ★★★ | July 2022

Saving Mozart

★★★

“The show is visually stunning, Jason Taylor’s lighting taking centre stage in the vast auditorium while Philip Witcomb’s looming, slatted set opens and closes to successively release and confine the protagonists”

Just as the fireworks are beginning to die down across London, the new musical “Treason” blasts into town on a wave of publicity that casts its fire glow across the rooftops of N22. The light is thrown on a handful of the conspirators who planned to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5th November 1505. It is a day that everybody “remember remembers” even if the detail is buried in the archives. “Treason the Musical” presents us with some of the background which, like the real events, gets a bit lost behind the celebration of the occasion.

We all know Guido ‘Guy’ Fawkes who was hanged for his part in the failed gunpowder plot (no – he wasn’t burned on a bonfire), but – be honest now – who can name the others? It was, perhaps, Robert Catesby (impressively played here by Connor Jones) who masterminded the scheme, spurred on after King James the First backtracked on his promise of greater religious tolerance towards the English Catholics. A reluctant recruit was Thomas Percy, and it is the relationship between Thomas and his wife Martha that dominates much of the story. Guy Fawkes is given the role of narrator, distancing himself from the action while filling us in with the details. It is a neat device, successfully pulled off by the writers Charli Eglinton and Kieran Lynn; but the credit surely goes to Gabriel Akamo who commands the space as Guy Fawkes. With booming voice and charisma, he laments his fame, decrying his status as scapegoat, all the while commenting and directing. It is Akamo who opens and closes the show, instructing us to “remember me”. We would like to see more of his presence in between and sometimes long for him to step down into the throng.

Leading the ensemble are Sam Ferriday and Nicole Raquel Dennis as the newlyweds Thomas and Martha Percy. Ferriday and Dennis form a dynamic duo. No sooner are they married than are wrenched apart as Thomas goes off to “fix things” for the Catholic cause. Jones’ formidable Catesby has recruited him into the gang, along with Robin and Timothy Wintour (Alfie Richards and Lewis Edgar) and Jack Wright (Kyle Cox). All are exceptional singers, with breath-taking harmonic skill in the rousing ensemble numbers, and a controlled, emotive power in their solo numbers and duos. Of which there are plenty. Ferriday and Dennis again shine when they come together in song. Another one to watch for is Emilie Louise Israel – as the peripheral, though striking character, Anne Vaux – whose voice and personality cuts through the chorus to grab our attention.

“This show lights the blue touch paper but again the real explosion eludes us”

On the other side of the fence is Joe McFadden’s King James. Arrogant but a bit dim, McFadden initially plays him for laughs. He is not the villain, as his descent into paranoia manifests itself in the second act, but manipulated by Oscar Conlon-Morrey’s more reprehensible, yet comedic, Robert Cecil who historically uncovered the gunpowder plot (though in this production it is somewhat unclear how or when the whistle was blown and by whom). All the principal players are buoyed by the ensemble, giving justice to Ricky Allan’s anthemic score.

The show is visually stunning, Jason Taylor’s lighting taking centre stage in the vast auditorium while Philip Witcomb’s looming, slatted set opens and closes to successively release and confine the protagonists. There is often an ecclesiastical feel, which does pour over into the narrative, resulting in the show feeling a bit like a sermon in places. The emotions run high, but we often feel it comes from the pulpit rather than from the heart. The overall austere approach is a touch at odds with the attempted quirkiness, and at times the echoes of ‘Les Misérables’ clash with those of ‘Hamilton’.

In 1605 the gunpowder plot failed in its mission. This show lights the blue touch paper but again the real explosion eludes us. There are definite sparks, though, within the plot and between the characters that reach us and make us fizzle momentarily. They say not to return to a firework that doesn’t go off. “Treason the Musical” invites us to ignore that safety rule and we are tempted to give it another go to see if it can find its true light.

Tag Archives: Charli Eglinton

SAVING MOZART

★★★★

The Other Palace

SAVING MOZART

The Other Palace

★★★★

“Jack Chambers’ Mozart movingly shows every single hope, fear and regret”