★★★

“visually stunning, perfectly capturing the bleak Island coast”

Flora, a new musical about the life of Scottish heroine Flora MacDonald, promises to be a triumphant, epic retelling of her life and story beyond her famed accomplishment. There are certainly glimmers of it in this production, but this is a tonally inconsistent show which feels like it tries to pull together too many elements that don’t quite match. Directed by Stasi Schaeffer, this show is a great place to start with reclaiming the story of Flora’s famous life.

The show, as the title denotes, is all about the life of Flora MacDonald. We start with the most famed part of her story: her journey of helping to smuggle Bonnie Price Charlie to the Isle of Skye in an attempt to evade government troops following the Battle of Culloden. The musical goes on to tell the story of the rest of her life: her marriage, children, emigration to North America and troubles with the American Revolutionary Way, and her eventual return to Skye. The story is told through two Floras: Flora Junior (Karen Fishwick) who we follow as she lives out her tale, and Flora Senior (Annie Grace) who is narrating her various trials and adventures.

The entire show, not only the songs, is told through rhyme. Perhaps this is to emulate the celtic storytelling of the show, perhaps not. Unfortunately the impressiveness of the feat does not carry through to the effectiveness of the writing. By building themselves such a rigid structure to work in throughout, the words of Belle Jones and John Kielty often realise themselves with messy partial rhymes and poor scansion of rhythm. That said, for all that some of the words were scrappy, it was incredible and much needed to hear so much Gaelic spoken in such a large scale production.

The music is pleasant and joyous, and excels in its trad arrangements and use of actor-musicians. Indeed, it is always impressive to see actors playing their instruments as well as talking, walking, singing and dancing. It was incredibly effective during the ceilidh scenes to have the actors holding their instruments, but the ‘pit’ section of the stage next to the main set felt messy and sometimes the instruments were holding back from the physical storytelling of the actors. The strongest song in the show, where the two Floras sing a duet together about their imminent return home, stood out in its simplicity. The lyrics here were beautiful, and the melody quietly triumphant. This being near the end left a lasting impression with us of the best of the show.

The set (Frances Collier) was visually stunning, perfectly capturing the bleak Island coast. The costuming (Jennie Lööf) of the two Floras was effective in its quiet mirroring, however for a show that was predominantly period costuming some elements felt out of place (I don’t think they made skinny Levi’s jeans in the 1700s…). The lighting (Benny Goodman), like the set, captured the tone of the show and weaved in wonderfully with the storytelling.

For a show all about one woman, and a very well known one at that, this show required a strong lead to carry its weight: and it delivered. Karen Fishwick provided a detailed, determined and layered performance of Flora. She excelled at providing a clear path through some muddled writing, and her voice was at once tenderly soft and strong when needed. The ensemble did well in backing her up, and altogether provided perfectly consistent support.

The show clearly has a great deal of strength to it, but it strikes me as a show which has not had enough time to gestate and come together cleanly. It does well in allowing us as an audience to experience more of Flora’s life than we ever may have heard of, but as a musical it needs some work.

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

★★★★★

“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 “Fiddler 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, ‘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 “Fiddler on the Roof” one to remember for a long time.

When Sholem Aleichem’s “Tevye’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 ‘The Dream’ drifting into a macabre nightmare, or the rousing joy of ‘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 ‘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.

Tag Archives: Lawrence Boothman

FLORA – A NEW MUSICAL

★★★

Pavilion Theatre

FLORA – A NEW MUSICAL

Pavilion Theatre

★★★

“visually stunning, perfectly capturing the bleak Island coast”

FLORA – A NEW MUSICAL

Pavilion Theatre

Reviewed on 26th March 2026

by Kathryn McQueen

Photography by Ewen Weatherspoon

FLORA

FLORA

FLORA

🎭 A TOP SHOW IN AUGUST 2024 🎭

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

★★★★★

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

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

★★★★★

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