Magical merry-go-round
While Steven Spielberg was busy reimagining the original West Side Story movie for a modern audience, theatre director Timothy Sheader was doing something similar with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s fairground musical Carousel (Regents Park Open Air Theatre). Imagination takes centre stage in every sense as Ferenc Molinár’s 1909 play is brought from its original setting in Budapest via the Maine fishing community (premiered in1945 on Broadway) to a town “up north” in England with the citizens looking like a mining community on the receiving end of Margaret Thatcher’s evisceration of that industry. It’s a bold move and pays rich dividends as the setting lends itself well to the main themes of gender identity and abuse culminating in a fight back by women.
Having a British cast speak and sing in their own regional accents is an immediate winner as is the introduction of a brass band who not only bring stomach wrenching melodies to an already extraordinary score but also represent the heart and soul of those communities in their struggle to survive. Some are still mystified as to why young Julie (Carly Bawden) falls for fairground blaggard Billy Bigelow (Declan Bennett) which simultaneously mystifies me as the clue is in the word human and we all behave in ways that are sometimes well beyond the realms of reason, especially when it comes to matters of love. The strange part of the plot is Billy’s “reincarnation” and redemption following his foolhardiness in dying during a botched robbery attempt.
Tom Scutt’s minimalist set, the space empty but for a neatly assembled pile of planks, creates a feeling of emptiness, being hemmed in by environment and circumstance. The slowly revolving stage with a Transformer like crane hanging ominously above them is both portentous but also a potential means to escape. The carousel itself appears once and is brilliantly realised. However, it the orchestration that makes such a significant difference to the impact of the production with Tom Deering being fully in tune with Sheader’s concept creating a sound that retains the majestic glory of the original score with the richness of the brass adding even more emotion to an already stirring sound.
The songs remain some of the best ever written for a musical (Time magazine named it the best musical of the twentieth century and Richard Rodgers said it was the favourite of all his musicals) and the cast give renditions that are superb. Beginning with the ebullient June is Bustin’ Out All Over through to the soaring You’ll Never Walk Alone it is a musical journey which tugs at the heartstrings but also tells the story so well. Bawden and Bennett, who are terrific throughout, give us a wonderful If I Loved You and Joanna Ryder, a gutsy Nettie Fowler, sings the anthemic You’ll Never Walk Alone to the treetops swaying in the dank night sky which had many in the audience sobbing uncontrollably.
Excellent work also comes from Christina Modestou as Julie’s friend Carrie and John Pfumojena as Mr Snow, a man frightened of his own shadow but the right one for besotted Carrie. The icing on an already very rich cake is Drew McOnie’s choreography which thumps like the heartbeat of a magnificent show. The final image of the women facing outwards and the men in is simple and incredibly powerful. Yes a picture can paint a thousand words. Come rain or shine – it was a drizzly press night with another of those magical crepuscular moments in the park – you simply cannot miss this.
Magdalena Parxiou however is discombobulated…
Stylised productions come ten a penny at Shakespeare’s Globe and Twelfth Night directed by Sean Holmes is another. It is colourful, quirky and a theatrical disruptor so to speak but left me all asunder. The casting is par for the course with men and women exchanging gender but it lacks cohesion. It is kind of set in 1950’s India but perhaps not with costumes ranging from leather trench coat (Toby), posh fop (Andrew Aguecheek), cowboy (Orsino) and then Sebastian and Olivia in period dress. Weird, and distracting. Unfortunately the majority of the actors didn’t have enough charisma to make the play very absorbing and some struggled with the Shakespearean verse. More of the musical and celebratory vibe you normally get in the comedies at the globe would have been welcome. Hit and miss, hence my discombobulation.
Carousel – www.openairtheatre.com
Twelfth Night – www.shakespearesglobe.com