★★★★

“it’s the songs and the thrill of the circus big top that makes this production sing”

Cy Coleman’s Barnum is a big, big-top musical in the small Watermill Theatre proving that size doesn’t matter, as this is a big bold production. The skillset of the company of 18 actor-musician / circus performers is outstanding and between them must have played over 100 different musical instruments.

The tale of P.T. Barnum the nineteenth-century impresario who sells the American dream with his “humbug” to become the greatest showman – and like many after him, takes his sucker-deluding talents into politics.

Jonathan O’Boyle’s production is brilliantly conceived, even with Mark Bramble’s weak book as it flashes through Barnum’s colourful life – it’s the songs and the thrill of the circus big top that makes this production sing.

As the audience walk into the auditorium from the garden, where due to the inclement weather there had been a very brief pre-show; on stage we find just three acrobats warming up on their trapeze hoops. From the get-go the audience see beautiful shapes, spins and strength (circus director Amy Panter). With just the three performers the stage looked full and yet the next minute there were eighteen and it looked wonderful.

The pace of the choreography by Oti Mabuse is breath-taking, and the four key acrobatic dancers Emily Odunsi, André Rodrigues, Dan Holland and Kiera Brunton (who is a pocket rocket of talent) handle the space and the tightly performed routines with pure joy.

Matt Rawle in the titular role does everything right but it is hard to see any of the “attractions” that should make Barnum mesmeric. But the iconic scene when Barnum literally walks a tightrope towards his lover, he does with aplomb. This is a love triangle in soft-focus. Charity Barnum (Monique Young) invests more heart towards her errant husband, than might be written and sings with true love. Whilst Barnum’s lover, the opera star Jenny Lind he named the Swedish nightingale (Penny Ashmore), is sung beautifully in full soprano. The character has the best exit in the show as she is lifted and slowly spun on high – wearing a wonderful red creation with a very long train. Do watch out for Ashmore in the finale, as by then she is dancing on pointe, singing and playing the Irish harp!

In this production it is the amazing musical arrangements (Orchestrator and Musical Supervisor George Dyer) that win the day. The company literally manage to sing as they dance as they play the piccolo and in a breath swop to a double bass or run to play one of the two honkytonk pianos. Act Two starts with Tom Sowinski on solo sousaphone as the number ‘Come Follow the Band’ grows into a rousing song with full company marching choreographed moves whilst playing a plethora of brass and percussion instruments. Followed fast on its heels with the song ‘Black and White’ as colour literally bursts back onto the stage, as Barnum brings colour back into his life. Josh Barnett is the onstage musical director doing a fantastic job whilst juggling many musical instruments and several key roles in the show.

The costumes are perfect throughout and the theatre’s small proscenium stage is turned into a believable red, white and blue circus big top, all designed by Lee Newby. With colourful lighting design by Jai Morjaria, bringing it all to life.

A fun night out and certainly another hit for the Watermill Theatre who clearly know how to put on a big show.

MARIE CURIE – THE MUSICAL at Charing Cross Theatre

★★★

“The music is the highlight, even though it often feels it belongs to another story.”

Marie Curie, née Maria Salomea Sklodowska, is remembered for her discovery of radium and polonium (the latter named after her native Poland); and for her huge contribution to finding treatments for cancer. The latter is what she is generally celebrated for, along with the hospital and charity that bear her name. Less is probably known about her years of obsessive scientific research and the opposition and misogyny she faced while trying to get her name onto the periodic table. The science goes over most people’s heads, whereas the enduring image is of Marie, buttoned up to the neck in black, gazing unsmiling into the camera.

An unlikely subject for a musical. But composer Jongyoon Choi and librettist Seeun Choun obviously decided to give it a go. After making the finals of the ‘Glocal Musical Live’ competition in Korea it secured funding and eventually premiered in Seoul in 2018. Apparently, Tom Ramsay’s English adaptation (with lyrics translated by Emma Fraser) marks the first time a Korean musical is staged in English.

There are elements to this musical that would have many a physicist scratching their head. Its essence is not instantly discoverable despite condensing Marie’s story into a one act musical. It concentrates on her relocation to Paris, charting her struggle to fit into a man’s world. The narrative follows her research and discoveries, the adverse and tragic effects of these discoveries and the subsequent battles against corporate baddies. The love interest is supplied by fellow scientist and husband, Pierre Curie, although it is a bit of a cold fusion. The passion is reserved for the chemical elements, with love songs titled ‘Radium Paradise’ (parts one and two no less). In fact, the show could have been called ‘Radium: The Musical’.

It opens at the end with Marie’s daughter, Irène (Lucy Young), reading her mother’s memoirs while Ailsa Davidson’s spectral, black-clad Marie watches. Davidson’s fine, pure voice sits well on the lush strings of the prologue as she guides the story back to the start. Rose Montgomery’s changeable set is with her every step of the way, from the train carriage as it pulls into Paris, to the laboratories and the factories. On the journey, Marie meets fellow Pole, Anne Kowalska (Chrissie Bhima), a lowly factory worker who later becomes the voice of justice and moral reasoning. It takes a while to get there, though, with the bulk of the show comprising a song cycle leading up to Marie’s discovery of radium.

The tone darkens when the destructive side of radium manifests itself. Initially used as luminous paint for watches and clock dials, the painters were instructed to lick their brushes to give them a fine point. It didn’t take long for this practice to lead to a sharp peak in the death rate among the workers. Covered up as a syphilis outbreak (did they really think they could get away with that?), the factory boss (Richard Meek) finds himself at loggerheads with Marie.

It is refreshing to see the story focus on a relatively short time span rather than attempting to create an epic chronicle of the woman’s life. It lends a human touch, steering the piece away from docudrama. Marie’s later years and achievements are glossed over during the finale. We might not learn a great deal that we already didn’t know but instead we are joyously swept along by Jongyoon Choi’s sumptuous score, rich in violins, cellos and clarinet. The music is the highlight, even though it often feels it belongs to another story. Choi’s compositions are indeed stirring, yet the lyrics and subject matter don’t always echo the passion.

The passion, however, is undeniable in the performances, and we also come away with some pertinent reminders of the historical struggle of women with a society against them. But despite the beauty of the score, and Emma Fraser’s arrangements, there is a sense that this story belongs more to the spoken word.

Tag Archives: Pamela Raith

BARNUM

★★★★

Watermill Theatre

BARNUM at the Watermill Theatre

★★★★

“it’s the songs and the thrill of the circus big top that makes this production sing”

BARNUM at the Watermill Theatre

Reviewed on 9th July 2024

by Debbie Rich

Photography by Pamela Raith

More shows we’ve reviewed at this venue:

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | ★★★★ | April 2024

THE LORD OF THE RINGS | ★★★★★ | August 2023

MANSFIELD PARK | ★★★★ | June 2023

RAPUNZEL | ★★★★ | November 2022

WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND | ★★★★ | July 2022

SPIKE | ★★★★ | January 2022

BARNUM

BARNUM

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

MARIE CURIE – THE MUSICAL

★★★

Charing Cross Theatre

MARIE CURIE – THE MUSICAL at Charing Cross Theatre

★★★

“The music is the highlight, even though it often feels it belongs to another story.”