Tag Archives: Dickon Gough

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

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Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

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“an electrifying mix of tradition and tragedy, with the flashes of humour searing through it like bolts of lightning”

Towards the end of the first act of β€œFiddler on the Roof”, the sun is gently sinking behind the trees of Regent’s Park and candlelight casts its quivering, magical glow across the stage. A lone fiddler plays the opening bars of the achingly beautiful wedding song, β€˜Sunrise, Sunset’. When we reach the bittersweet and hypnotic strains of the chorus, it is as though the number was written for this very moment: for this one particular sunset shared by a thousand people beneath a clear, unifying sky. It is one of many instants that make Jordan Fein’s current staging of β€œFiddler on the Roof” one to remember for a long time.

When Sholem Aleichem’s β€œTevye’s Daughters: Collected Stories” was first published in Yiddish at the dawn of the twentieth century, he was praised for the naturalness of his characters’ speech and the accuracy of his portrayal of life in the Shtetels of Eastern Europe. His writings combined cheerfulness in the face of adversity with the tragedy of the fate of the societies and their traditions. He probably had no idea that it would one day spawn one of the most successful and highly acclaimed musicals. Revived many times over the half century since its premiere, never before has it reflected the true nature of Aleichem’s writing with such accuracy and sensitivity. The creative elements of Jordan Fein’s interpretation come together in an electrifying mix of tradition and tragedy, with the flashes of humour searing through it like bolts of lightning.

The story centres on Tevye (Adam Dannheisser), the milkman in the village of Anatevka who is trying to cling onto his Jewish traditions as the outside world encroaches upon his family’s and the villagers’ lives. Not only that, but he is also up against his rebellious and progressive daughters who question the conventions, shunning the idea of arranged marriages; choosing instead to marry for love. The highly charged yet affectionate subversiveness of his daughters, however, is nothing compared to the dark shadow of the Imperial Russian pogroms rapidly approaching.

Tom Scutt’s imaginative set looms large over the action. A wheatfield uprooted from the ground, wrenched upwards in an arc exposing the name of the village embossed deep into the earth like an indelible stamp. Times are changing but the heritage runs deep. Beneath the canopy the orchestra is visible, the ensemble cast rarely leave the stage and the leading players watch from the sidelines when not in their own scenes. The community spirit is captured before a word is spoken (or sung). Nick Lidster’s clear-cut sound lends fragility to the solo numbers alongside the power of the rousing choruses of the ensemble. Julia Cheng’s choreography conjures a series of grand tableaux, like fine art in real life animation – meticulous yet shapeshifting: the comedy of β€˜The Dream’ drifting into a macabre nightmare, or the rousing joy of β€˜The Wedding’ that sinks into sinister violence as the Tsar’s officers intrude.

Adam Dannheisser, as Tevye, shifts superbly between the darkness and the light. A dominant figure yet dominated by the women in his life, he brings out the inherent comedy in the script with a true glint in his eye. A standout performance, but one of many; including Lara Pulver, as his wife Golde who really pulls the strings, along with Liv Andrusier’s feisty Tzeitel and Georgia Bruce’s pocket-rocket portrayal of Hodel. These strings snap when it comes to Chava, whose desire for marriage outside the Jewish faith is a line Tevye will not cross. Hannah Bristow adds poignancy with some evocative clarinet playing, endowing her character with a significance almost as symbolic as the eponymous β€˜fiddler’ (the virtuosic Raphael Papo).

The pulse of the piece is the score. Jerry Bock’s music and Sheldon Harnick’s lyrics have gained fame and familiarity over time, but the company inject fresh individuality into the songs. Full of imagery they range from intimate to anthemic, from the major to the minor, backed by the twelve-piece orchestra. The emotional impact of the music never fails to stab, and then soothe the heart, culminating in an aching finale that feels global yet is inseparable from its ethnic origins. This is musical theatre at its heartfelt best.

 


FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Reviewed on 6th August 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Marc Brenner

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE SECRET GARDEN | β˜…β˜…β˜… | June 2024
THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | May 2024
TWELFTH NIGHT | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | May 2024
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | August 2023
ROBIN HOOD: THE LEGEND. RE-WRITTEN | β˜…β˜… | June 2023
ONCE ON THIS ISLAND | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | May 2023
LEGALLY BLONDE | β˜…β˜…β˜… | May 2022

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

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THE ADDAMS FAMILY A MUSICAL COMEDY – LIVE IN CONCERT

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London Palladium

THE ADDAMS FAMILY – THE MUSICAL COMEDY – LIVE IN CONCERT at the London Palladium

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“pretty feeble stuff and – despite the talent of the cast”

The Addams Family – originally a single-panel comic before being reimagined in a whole host of television and film adaptions – has become a cult phenomenon. Thus, it was only a matter of time that the famous family would get the musical treatment, first performed on Broadway in 2010. Now, after a successful UK tour, The Addams Family: The Musical Comedy (directed by Matthew White with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa) premieres on the West End with two nights at the London Palladium as an ‘in concert’ show.

Patriarch Gomez Addams (Ramin Karimloo) faces a conflict with his wife Morticia (Michelle Visage, of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame) when their typically morose daughter Wednesday (Chumisa Dornford-May) asks him to keep her shotgun engagement to all-American boy Lucas (Ryan Kopel) a secret. When Lucas and his parents Mal and Alice (Sean Kingsley and Kara Lane respectively) come to dinner to get to know their soon-to-be in-laws, Wednesday’s younger brother Pugsley (Nicholas McLean) causes mischief in an effort to turn his sister’s attention back to him.

The plot is weak and highly cliched. Our three couples – Morticia and Gomez, Wednesday and Lucas, and Alice and Mal – all go through some (very) minor strife before expectedly making up. They all learn some generic advice from one another – how to be honest, how to let loose, and so forth. The audience’s investment can only be minimal when the stakes are so low.

The strongest of the cast are Sam Buttery as Uncle Fester and Dickon Gough as Lurch despite the latter having minimal lines. Dornford-May performs well as Wednesday – she has a great voice. Her interest in Lucas however is baffling – she even calls him the wrong name (Lewis) at one point though its unclear whether this was scripted.

“despite the talent of the cast – not much can be done to enliven such a boring storyline”

The chemistry between Visage and Karimloo is a little lacking. They play their own roles well but one is strained to believe in their relationship, especially given Gomez’s characterisation as the doting husband.

The songs are nearly entirely forgettable. There are some amusing lyrics – most notably in the song Trapped sung by Gomez – but overall, they are uninspired and often come out of nowhere Karimloo delivers strongly in his solos but any group singing fails to pack a punch. Whether this is due to weak microphones, shoddy sound design or lack of enthusiasm from the cast is unclear.

The set (designed by Diego Pitarch) is disappointing even for an in concert performance. A cardboard faΓ§ade of the skyscraper-clad New York City skyline sits at the back of the stage and a static tarp with stars and a moon shrouds the back wall. And, well, that’s it. Chairs, tables and the odd torture device are wheeled on in a vague suggestion of different rooms in the Addams’ family mansion. Granted, the musical is only scheduled for two nights but anything to suggest the set was anymore than a cheap afterthought would have been appreciated.

The props similarly fail to pack a punch. They are clearly cheap – Visage fails to make a clearly cardboard coffin look heavy at one point – and frankly no fun. There are no surprise hands or creatures jumping out of boxes. No appearance of the family pet Socrates the Octopus – not even a tentacle! Poorly rendered birds on sticks are flown around the stage at one point – I thought they were meant to be some make-belief fluff monster.

The Addams Family: The Musical Comedy – Live in Concert is pretty feeble stuff and – despite the talent of the cast – not much can be done to enliven such a boring storyline.

 

THE ADDAMS FAMILY – THE MUSICAL COMEDY – LIVE IN CONCERT at the London Palladium

Reviewed on 12th February 2024

by Flora Doble

Photography by Pamela Raith

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

DEATH NOTE – THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | August 2023

THE ADDAMS FAMILY

THE ADDAMS FAMILY

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