London Week Two

Two new musicals, two existing musicals and two play revivals, mixing off and on West End productions – it was a nice mix this week, including a pleasant surprise and a clanker of a show. Here are some mini-reviews in chronological order

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The Musical (Southwark Playhouse) ★★★★

Book & Lyrics by Jethro Compton. Music & Lyrics by Darren Clark. Southwark Playhouse: Elephant. 22 May – 1 Jul, 2023.

This musical has been in development for a while and I know friends who’ve seen smaller, rough versions of the show in years previous. This incarnation feels like it’s primed for a main stage now. It reminded me strongly of Once: The Musical, thanks to the celtic/folk score and feel-good/feel-bad energy. Jamie Parker is great as Benjamin Button, his earthy, easy charm helps to sell the conceit of the piece. My only complaint might be that the music does get a bit too familiar at times, but overall, this is a very exciting new piece.

Frozen: The Musical (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) ★★★

Music & Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Book by Jennifer Lee. Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Currently booking through Jan 2024.

I had very little interest in this one to be honest, as much as I like the film. I’d heard nothing but mediocre reviews since it opened and hadn’t summoned up the energy to see it in Sydney. But on a particularly hot summer day, the allure of air-con, and a £25 rush ticket got me inside… and I was pretty entertained. This is corporate theatre at its most cynical but the polish and gloss got me most of the way there. Great central performances by Samantha Barks as Elsa and Emily Lane as Anna (and Oliver Ormson as Hans) won me over. 

The special effects ranged from excellent to rather pathetic, which is disappointing after so many recent shows have shown us how much magic can be seen on stage. Overall the show is the most fine, average thing possible and I mean that as being it’s completely watchable without being exceptional in the slightest.

The Third Man: A Musical Thriller (Menier Chocolate Factory) Preview Performance

Book & Lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. Music by George Fenton. Menier Chocolate Factory. 10 Jun – 9 Sep, 2023

This one had me excited from the minute I heard about it. A new musical, based on Graham Greene’s book (and the Orson Wells film), with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, directed by Trevor Nunn with a cast of 18 in a small, well-respected venue – this was clearly the “out of town trial” for a show aimed at the West End. So I grabbed a ticket to the previews (so yes, the show is still in flux, take everything I say with a grain of salt).

It’s a shame it’s so dull. The score is unremarkable with some really obvious lyrical choices, I could guess the end of most of the lines in the songs. The show itself seemed to forget it was a musical for long stretches of time (and was better off for it – it works much better as a play). Even the swelling music couldn’t really sell the convenient “I just met someone and am now madly in love” moments. All of that said, the cast are fantastic, especially the three leads of Edward Baker-Duly (Calloway), Simon Bailey (Crabbit) and Natalie Dunne (Anna).

The Shape of Things (Park Theatre) ★★★★

Written by Neil LaBute. Park Theatre. 24 May – 1 Jul, 2023.

I have a real soft spot for this play. When I was first discovering theatre for myself in the late 90s / early 00s I saw the Sydney Theatre Company production and was blown away by Neil Labute’s moral ambiguity and sharp language. It’s one of the first times I saw a play explore a contemporary issue and make me really think. This new production is equally as pointed and the play has a new resonance in 2023 than it did back in 2001-03. Issues of male body image and “human-optimisation” culture are more prevalent now as Adam (Bridgerton‘s Luke Newton) goes from nerd to hipster in a dark reversal of Pygmalion. Evelyn (Amber Anderson) is even more ambiguous than she was originally – channelling a post-Me-Too rage blended with a nihilistic worldview that feels sadly contemporary. This is still a biting satire and worth every penny.

The Crucible (Gielgud Theatre) ★★★★★

Written by Arthur Miller. Gielgud Theatre. Booking till 2 Sep, 2023.

The National Theatre’s 2022 production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible received rave reviews and has now transferred to the West End. Again, thank god for £25 rush tickets. For me the selling point was Es Devlin’s design (she’s possibly my favourite stage designer), and its mixture of simple spaces and dramatic scale give this a ghostly air. You are greeted by a nonstop curtain of water, starting the show with an impression of awe and a sense of overwhelming power.

Maybe it’s the world climate we live in, but The Crucible feels frighteningly modern. As the force of reality-defying mobs swell (be it Covid, or Trump, or religion, or science) this tale of superstition and seemingly unstoppable powers made me squirm. If you ever want a reminder how stupid and evil humans can be, just take a seat and let Miller’s brilliant characters show you. Everyone here has fallen for a lie and refuses to turn around, choosing instead to double-down on their blindness rather than admit they’re wrong. This is the kind of  pride and hubris that kills people (just look at every Covid-denying, anti-vax person you know and you’ll see the same stubborn lack of humility).

Milly Alcott (best known for the Game of Thrones spin off, House of the Dragon in her stage debut) is brilliant as Abigail Williams – she has an undeniable stage presence that she channels into Abigail’s manipulations. Matthew Marsh’s Judge Danforth is scarier than anything you’ll see in 2:22: A Ghost Story (which, to be clear, I really enjoyed too).

This is as brilliant as everyone has said.

How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (Southwark Playhouse) ★★★

Music & Lyrics by Frank Loesser. Book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock & Willie Gilbert, Based on the novel by Shepherd Mead. Southwark Playhouse: Borough. 12 May – 17 Jun, 2023.

Gender flipping this musical/comedy of mid-century corporate incompetence is a cute idea that just doesn’t really pay off in this revival of How to Succeed… In fact, in softening the edges of the sexual politics it removes some of the sting from the text. That said though, the tunes are great and are sung to perfection. The real standouts are the two characters played more or less ‘straight’, the sexy Hedy Larue (Annie Aitken) and the sweet secretary Rosemary Pilkington (Allie Daniel). Everything else about this quite cartoonish production feels like it’s trying too hard to be funny.