Tag Archives: Lyric Hammersmith

GHOSTS

★★★★★

Lyric Hammersmith

GHOSTS

Lyric Hammersmith

★★★★★

“A breathtaking new adaptation that should not be missed”

As Gary Owen mentions, adapting a classic play is a challenging process. Numerous things need to be considered, the time the play was originally written, the audience the specific production is destined for, to change or not to change significant plot points and if you do, how far can you take it. A classic play, like Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts originally written in 1881, has survived through time for a reason and some adapters are hesitant to tamper with that. This production, adapted by Owen and skilfully directed by Rachel O’Riordan, is the perfect example that sometimes, when you do decide to make bold changes, it can have the best result imaginable.

Helena decides to use her and her late husband’s money to build a new children’s hospital, which is about to open. But when certain accusations come out regarding his behaviour, rumours start to spread and the trustees feel the need to separate themselves from him. And when Helena’s son, Oz, visits the family home and gets involved with his childhood friend Reggie, dark secrets that have been kept hidden creep out and Helena needs to face the true legacy her late husband has left her.

The whole cast do much more than pull their weight. Their commitment, vast emotional range and easiness in finding the essence of each role elevate the story. In Helena, Victoria Smurfit, we see a survivor, a strong but also broken woman who tries to protect her son from the truth at all costs. The facade of the goddess, always in control and untouchable, gives way to trauma and pain, in a most natural and heartbroken manner. Patricia Allison (Reggie), Rhashan Stone (Andersen) and Deka Walmsley (Jacob) help develop the concept of duality throughout the show, showing that the truth always has two versions and that being rich and poor is essentially two sides of the same coin. Callum Scott Howells as the tortured and lost son Oz is the highlight of the evening. His complicated relationship with his parents has created a sweet self consciousness, a need to be accepted and loved exactly as he is. He is aware that something is rotten in this family and holds on to it tight. That is the only way he knows how to exist: in the shadow of what came before him, because that’s often easier than forging a path of one’s own.

Ghosts is a marvellous continuation in Owen and O’Riordan’s already existing series of collaborations. The text takes us on a rollercoaster ride with its wit, depth, twists and play between absolute horror and tender sympathy. Under a direction that focuses on raw action and reaction in a powerful and modern context, a lot of the original play’s traits change. But the theme of the past and the trouble of the young when carrying the burden of what came before them is still there, resonating in a time when history seems to be dangerously close to repeating itself.

Commendation needs to be given to the set design (Merle Hensel). A borderline claustrophobic and unnaturally simple living room with pictures of a man’s back of the head from different angles plastered all over the walls give us the sense that this isn’t a home and never has been. The man on the black and white pictures could be the deceased father himself, out of Helena and Oz’s life, but still very much a presence that impacts them. Sound design and music (Donato Wharton and Simon Slater) are sharp, uncomfortable, perfectly complementing the darkness and shocking revelations the characters are faced with.

A breathtaking new adaptation that should not be missed, Ghosts demonstrates how classics can work spectacularly for different times and ages without any compromise.

 



GHOSTS

Lyric Hammersmith

Reviewed on 16th April 2025

by Stephanie Christodoulidou

Photography by Helen Murray

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

PLAY ON! | ★★★★★ | January 2025
OTHELLO | ★★★★ | January 2023

GHOSTS

GHOSTS

GHOSTS

PLAY ON!

★★★★★

Lyric Hammersmith

PLAY ON!

Lyric Hammersmith

★★★★★

“The unique quality of this musical is that each number comes with its own ever-increasing ‘wow factor’.”

The atmosphere in the bar is electric. The only thing missing is the fog of cigarette smoke, otherwise we’ve walked into an old brownstone building on the corner of 52nd Street. It is the early 1940s. Was that Charlie Parker over there by the bar? I’m sure I just saw Dizzy Gillespie. Through the crowds clutching their Daiquiris and Manhattans, I think I can hear Duke Ellington strike a few opening chords on the grand piano. But then the chime of the intercom – with its five-minute call – brings us back into the twenty-first century, as we file into the auditorium for Sheldon Epps’ musical “Play On!”

The title comes from the Duke’s famous opening line from “Twelfth Night” on which this musical is based. Epps’ concept, with the book by Cheryl L. West, takes brazen liberties with Shakespeare while still convincing us of its faithfulness. The result is a revelation – as we are transported from Illyria to the Cotton Club in Harlem in nineteen-forty-something. The music of Duke Ellington slots into the narrative as though he were commissioned to write the songs specifically for this show. This is hardcore jazz, steeped in tradition, but sharing the stage with its modern sister ‘hip-hop’ thanks to the stunning choreography of Kenrick H2O Sandy MBE.

The opening routine sets the tone – a burst of precision and emotion, the ensemble moving as one, led by Llewellyn Jamal. Breaking free from the song and from his magnetic dance moves, Jamal coaxes us into the action, playing Jester – a chancing, two-timing yet loveable rogue. Into the club wanders his niece, Viola (Tsemaye Bob-Egbe), an aspiring songwriter looking to make it big in the Big Apple, and hoping to join the ranks of the club’s band leader ‘Duke’. She hasn’t bargained for the reception she receives though. “Ain’t no woman can do songwriting” her uncle Jester tells her. To be taken seriously she dresses as a man and becomes Vyman. Meanwhile ‘Duke’ (Earl Gregory) is suffering from writer’s block, unable to complete his melodies. With his Mojo gone, so too has the affections of Lady Liv (KoKo Alexandra) the nightclub’s diva. Vyman is tasked with trying to put things right and, with the help and hindrance of Rev (Cameron Bernard Jones), Miss Mary (Tanya Edwards) and Sweets (Lifford Shillingford) we embark on a very Shakespearean comedy of errors. With all that jazz.

The unique quality of this musical is that each number comes with its own ever-increasing ‘wow factor’. And each performer matches the demands of the material with equal virtuosity. Gregory’s plaintive ‘I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart’ is followed by Alexandra’s ‘Mood Indigo’ (what an entrance Alexandra makes!). Bob-Egbe’s ‘Don’t Get Around Much Anymore’ rightly betrays the fact that she does get around a lot on the musical theatre scene. Smoky, bluesy ballads interlock with Bebop, big band syncopation. ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing’, but “Play On!” swings over the edge, and we cling on in ecstasy as it sways to the rhythm. An infectious and irresistible rhythm courtesy of the onstage five-piece band, led by musical director Ashton Moore at the grand piano.

Each number is a highlight – the solos, duets, quartets and more. Jamal and Shillingford deliver a brilliantly hilarious ‘Rocks in My Bed’ while the first act closes with a rousing ‘Solitude’, each singer overlapping before coming together into a rousing, show-stopping ensemble. The vocal dexterity is matched by their handling of West’s text. Bob-Egbe’s fluidity and Jamal’s flexibility are a master class in acting and timing, while Gregory’s cool smoky tones evoke the period with echoes of a young Leslie ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson in his Harlem days.

The ending of the story plays fast and loose with the original plot. Rev, who represents Malvolio, has a very different fate. The reconciliations are not wholly expected by those familiar with Shakespeare’s text. In fact, in some ways, this has a more satisfactory conclusion. The feelgood factor is one that the Bard may not have sanctioned, but we endorse it, and love it. And we leave the auditorium with more than a dance in our step. “If music be the food of love, play on… Give me excess of it”. That sums it up really.



PLAY ON!

Lyric Hammersmith

Reviewed on 31st January 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Ellie Kurttz

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

OTHELLO | ★★★★ | January 2023

PLAY ON!

PLAY ON!

PLAY ON!