Tag Archives: Nicola Blackman

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

★★★

Online via stream.theatre

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Online via stream.theatre

Reviewed – 25th February 2021

★★★

 

“With enough spectacle, big chorus numbers and powerful performances, this show could be a contender”

 

The latest offering by the Southwark Playhouse is a musical adaptation of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, based on Goethe’s famous poem. It’s a story probably better known to audiences as a cartoon version starring Mickey Mouse in Disney’s Fantasia, where the young Mickey attempts to emulate his sorcerer boss by casting a magic spell, and rapidly gets in over his head. Dancing broomsticks and magical mayhem on screen are accompanied by composer Paul Dukas’ memorable score. Goethe’s poem, on the other hand, focuses firmly on more troublesome themes, such as lying, and pretending to be something you are not, and how good intentions will not save you from the consequences of your own arrogance and ignorance. In the Southwark Playhouse version, with book and lyrics by Richard Hough, and music by Ben Morales Frost, an attempt is made to update the story by making the young apprentice a daughter desperate for her magician father’s approval. She isn’t arrogant, but with a typical teenager’s desire for independence, decides to flex her magical muscles before she’s quite ready. And to be fair, she has an overprotective father who tries to push her in directions she knows won’t work for her. The story is placed firmly in the north (with northern English accents) but rather bewilderingly, the location is referred to as Midgard. Before you get excited, I have to warn you there isn’t a Norse god in sight.

Perhaps the biggest problem with Hough and Frost’s version of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is that it tries too hard to be all things to everyone. It’s an unlikely mash up of magic versus science, northern belt and braces versus southern decadence, and capitalist exploitation of the working class. Add to that an environmental theme of human exploitation of natural resources, personified in the Aurora or Northern Lights that is somehow channeling its power through the magician and his child. In short, you have a plot that goes something like Ibsen’s Enemy of the People meets Mary Poppins. Goethe, this is not, even if there is a lively chorus of dancing broomsticks.

Nevertheless, this is a musical that has audience appeal. The diverse cast is charming, with particularly strong performances from Mary Moore as Eva, the Magician’s daughter, and David Thaxton, as her father, Johan. There is a heartwarming connection between these two on stage which is lovely to see, and it helps cement the drama that evolves as the two battle the evil capitalist forces of Fabian Lyddeker (Marc Pickering) and his strongwilled mother Lamia (Dawn Hope). Thaxton in particular, brings a nice intensity to his role of a man trying to keep his daughter safe from the powers that threaten to overwhelm them both. The strengths of this musical lie in the music and lyrics, and director Charlotte Westenra stages the action in such a way that gives the singers and dancers plenty of space (in a limited space) to shine. The musicians, under the direction of Alan Williams, do a great job with the score, and don’t overpower the voices. There are plenty of comic moments for the minor characters, and Yazdan Qafouri as Eva’s lovestruck young scientist suitor, plays his part with a sweet vulnerability that is sure to win fans. The costume and set design (Anna Kelsey) miss what few opportunities there are to be spectacular, but this is a musical staged on a small stage—not ideal for a show that involves the majesty of celestial phenomena and the pyrotechnics of exploding refineries.

This version of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice really belongs on a West End stage. With enough spectacle, big chorus numbers and powerful performances, this show could be a contender. But the plot needs work. Bring back Goethe’s tough mindedness. It won’t hurt The Sorcerer’s Apprentice a bit, and it would be great to get away from the sentimentality of the Disney adaptation. Why not think Wicked meets—just about any musical with complex, morally conflicted leading characters? In a world hurtling towards climate catastrophe and battling toxic capitalism, this could be a winner.

 

Reviewed by Dominica Plummer

Photography by Geraint Lewis

 


The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Online via stream.theatre

 

Recently reviewed by Dominica:
Bird | ★★ | Cockpit Theatre | September 2020
Bread And Circuses | ★★½ | Online | September 2020
Minutes To Midnight | ★★★★ | Online | September 2020
Persephone’s Dream | ★★★ | Online | September 2020
The Trilobite | ★★★★ | Online | September 2020
Paradise Lost | ★★★★ | Cockpit Theatre | September 2020
The Legend of Moby Dick Whittington | ★★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Potted Panto | ★★★ | Garrick Theatre | December 2020
Magnetic North | ★★★★ | Online | December 2020
Public Domain | ★★★★ | Online | January 2021

 

Click here to see our most recent reviews

 

Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack and the Beanstalk

★★★★

Online

Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack and the Beanstalk

Online and in cinemas

Reviewed – 3rd December 2020

★★★★

 

“The witty jokes, jolly songs and dazzling costumes all combine to provide a show for the whole family to enjoy”

 

There’s no denying it’s been a tough year, and the hardships the theatre industry has endured cannot be understated. With so much uncertainty, it was touch and go as to whether we’d be able to enjoy a traditional pantomime this year. A small number of theatres are going to be performing panto to much smaller audiences than they’re used to and some are going online, so we can enjoy a bit of light-hearted entertainment from home this festive season. Filmed over the summer on sets in the writer and director’s own back garden, Jack and the Beanstalk is one such online alternative. Peter Duncan, former Blue Peter presenter, actor and theatre and film maker, presents an hour and a half of the fun, energetic antics we have all come to expect from this uniquely British tradition.

We first see a family at home where a little girl receives a parcel – a Jack and the Beanstalk story book – and we are then transported into the world of the story and the girl’s imagination. This is an engaging introduction and should really captivate the children who are watching from the outset.

The show begins and the Garden Fairy appears in a bold, bright costume. As with live pantos, we are encouraged to interact early on and, in this case, “shout at the screen”. We are introduced to an array of quirky characters including Jack (Sam Ebenezer), Dame Trott (played by Peter Duncan himself), Giant Blunderbore (Yuval Shwartsman), who spends his time terrorising the villagers from above, and his dogsbody Fleshcreepy (Jos Vantyler), amongst other characters. All actors commit well to their roles, are entertaining to watch and supported by an energetic ensemble.

Throughout the story are timely, light-hearted references to the current Coronavirus pandemic including a song about lockdown at the start and plastic screens used for the characters’ romantic embraces at the end of the show.

Costumes (David Morgan) are everything you would expect from a traditional panto, from the over the top dame outfit to the dainty dress worn by the female lead. The design of Giant Blunderbore is particularly effective. We see him towards the end of the show, having only heard his bellowing voice before then.

Jack and the Beanstalk is performed in the traditional panto style audiences will be familiar with. The witty jokes, jolly songs and dazzling costumes all combine to provide a show for the whole family to enjoy. Nothing can beat the feeling of being in a theatre and seeing a live production, but the cast and creative team have done tremendously well in their attempts to replicate this feeling for us – catch it while you can.

 

Reviewed by Emily K Neal

 

 

Jack and the Beanstalk

Online via www.pantoonlne.co.uk and at Everyman Cinemas from 4th December. At Showcase cinemas from 11th December

 

 

 

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