| A very successful piece of big musical theatre |
At NYTW |
| National Youth Theatre of Wales- Cafe Cariad , Sherman Theatre Cardiff , September 10, 2007 |
This was again for me another “of the most electric, absorbing, exciting and rewarding nights at the theatre” I’ve seen for some while. At the heart of the production was director Greg Cullen’s very fine understanding of the core truths of the art of theatre. He will be a hard act to follow as he steps down after many notable successes as Artistic Director of The National Youth Theatre of Wales. He also has a very precise understanding of the demands of his large, naturally youthful, talented and enthusiastic cast, getting the most out of every single player and giving to each one a very significant role to play.Despite this being a very successful piece of big musical theatre, it told a very intimate story using the musical form to drive home the passion and tragedy as well as underpinning the human warmth and good humour. The strong and progressive story was collaboration between Cullen and fast emerging quality playwright Tim Price, with Cullen completing all the very moving lyrics. Every element of the production was carefully created to provide a particularly edgy atmosphere to reflect and present to us the awfulness of these tragic times. There was a touch of dissonance in Jak Poore’s appropriate and warm-hearted score, a slight break in the fine singing voices of the leading characters, with the jaggedness of the easily adaptable scenery designed by Ruth Hall assisted by Guto Humphries, the fabric of the exact period costumes by Anna Stone, Claire Tucker and Joanna Nicholls, the sometimes claustrophobic lighting with rare, near-perfect sound design and control from John Bishop and James Evans all combining to produce a constantly moving picture of ‘rough’ fine art. Phil Williams is credited and succeeds as Movement Director, the choreography may not quite be dance but it gives us strong dramatic values whether it is giving us partisan fighting or glorious humour when we have a brilliantly staged Church v Chapel rugby match! This is a tough and tense story; the audience is ready for the relief of some rather camp but beautifully presented cockerel escaping humour that pops, very theatrically into the proceedings from time to time. The missing cockerel was a device to get everyone out of Dowlais’ Café Cariad so that we could move to Italy. This wasn’t the only moment of delightful tongue-in-cheek theatricality; after all we were in a theatre. Early in the nineteen thirties Italian cafés became very much an iconic presence in most Welsh towns with their tight communities divided as they were back in Italy by supporter or detractor for the dictator,Mussolini. Clearly this is of much greater consequence in the homeland where the youthful Giulio and his sister Simonetta are spirited away to Dowlais for their safety in these dangerous times. There they are warmly greeted by their uncle and aunt getting over the fact that their waitress Rhiannon had made a last minute decision not to marry into the family. Elin Philips, as Rhiannon, tenderly attending table in her wedding gown and headdress, exquisitely combined vulnerability with an underlying strength of character echoed in her tender and emotional singing. Tomos Eames totally convinced as the intense and inner-tortured Giuilo and sung with tremendous elegance. The great strength of this production came from the magnificent ensemble feel of the production even the gaucheness of some of those on stage positively enhanced the pictures. Nevertheless I have to single out Lowri Walton’s stellar performance, her flashing smile, great singing voice and tender acting was utterly captivating. The dramatic story sees Winston Churchill’s war time internment of all Italian men. The ironic transportation of them on the fated Arandora Star to Canada totally destroyed by a U-Boat torpedo, where Giulio’s place is taken by another man, leaving him saved but in deep remorse. With so many men away a tender relationship develops between Rhiannon and Simonetta, Simonetta breaks the rising passion to leave Rhiannon to seal her earlier love for Giulio. The gripping story has come full circle and the opening ‘wedding’ number is movingly repeated followed by a rousing closing chorus number that elicits a standing ovation from the capacity audience. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
This review has been read 2804 times There are 30 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
