Mark Aspinall

Fiddler on the Roof

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Reviewed by Nikki Cotter

Opening Night verdict ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Credit: Johan Persson

Jordan Fein’s multi award-winning Fiddler on the Roof, which began its life last summer at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre arrived at Manchester’s Palace Theatre this week proving to audiences just how incredibly special this timeless giant of the theatre world really is.

Fiddler on the Roof introduces us to impoverished Jewish milkman Tevye, (Matthew Woodyatt), a proud father, committed to honouring the traditions of his culture in an ever-changing and often incredibly testing world. This powerful story truly stands the test of time as its themes resonate just as strongly today as they did when it first premiered over 60 years ago. At its core is a poignant portrayal of a family man trying to raise his five daughters to honour the traditions of his Jewish faith, there is humour, joy, enormous poignancy and an abundance of heart.

Tom Scutt’s rustic design sets the scene beautifully, the straw ceiling upon which the fiddler plays gently moves up and down ensuring our focus never shifts from Tevye’s intimate and fascinating world. Aideen Malone’s stunning lighting design is subtle yet superb, bathing the Palace Theatre stage with rising dawn sunsets and flickering firelight glows.

Matthew Woodyatt’s Tevye is breathtakingly brilliant, warm, nuanced, reflective, loving and painfully real. His observations, considerations and deliberations are delivered with captivating authenticity. This is a performance packed with huge emotion, every moment is perfectly measured whilst he balances the turmoil Tevye goes through with a palpable realism. The journey he takes Tevye on is entirely mesmerising, ending the show a different man from the one we first meet at the start of Act I.

Jodie Jacobs’ performance as Tevye’s wife, Golde, is equally as impressive. Respectful of her husband’s desperate need to uphold tradition yet strong and resolute in her own sense of self, the two make for a perfect pairing. Their rendition of Do You Love Me? is a joy, relatable and real.

As Tevye’s daughters begin one by one to move away from the traditional Matchmaker approach to finding a suitable husband the battle between head and heart really begins for Tevye. Woodyatt does an incredible job of taking us with him on this captivating journey, we share in his joy, his frustrations and his pain.

Woodyatt and Jacobs are supported by an incredible cast. Each and every person on stage is entirely committed to telling this beautiful story. Special mention must go to Natasha Jules Bernard, Hannah Bristow and Georgia Bruce who play Tevye’s daughters Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava. Each bring their very different characters to life beautifully, adding further depth and heart to this moving tale while their partners Motel, Perchik and Fyedka are portrayed superbly by Dan Wolff, Greg Bernstein and Gregor Milne.

Choreographer Julia Cheng respectfully mixes the traditional with the modern resulting in exhilarating ensemble numbers that will make you wish you too were part of the uplifting celebrations. The traditional bottle dance remains and is just as thrilling as ever. The additional orchestrations from music supervisor Mark Aspinall really take this score to the next level while sound designer Nick Lidster ensures that every note is crystal clear.

This is without doubt the best production of Fiddler on the Roof I’ve ever seen, from the fiddlers haunting melodies delivered superbly by Roman Lytwyniw to the sheer beauty of Tom Scrutt’s set design this production is perfection. This timeless classic is stunningly reimagined yet maintains a respectfully traditional feel cementing its place as a musical theatre masterpiece.

Fiddler on the Roof is on at Manchester’s Palace Theatre until Saturday 1st November tickets available here.

Titanic the Musical

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Titanic

One of the most infamous disasters of all time where a heart-breaking 1517 men, women and children lost their lives may not seem like the most obvious choice for a musical makeover, however this Broadway originated production and winner of 5 Tony Awards has its sights firmly set on disproving that.

Thom Southerland has stripped back the original Broadway production which was first seen on British shores at the Southwark Playhouse in 2013 before a critically acclaimed 11 week run at the Charing Cross Theatre in 2016. David Woodhead’s two-tier set with metallic proscenium arch has been upscaled to take in the large venues on this new tour to great effect; immediately transporting audiences to the decks of the doomed ship.

Howard Hudson’s atmospheric lighting reflects the changing mood and emotion of the story perfectly as bright, brilliant optimism is replaced with a chillingly dark desperation. Further adding to the authenticity of the piece is Mark Aspinall’s band who provide an evocative soundtrack of strings & percussion, sweeping magnificently from joyful light-hearted optimism to the dreaded fear of impending doom.

Maury Yeston & Peter Stone’s award-winning musical fills the Lowry’s Lyric Theatre with its soaring score and impressive 25 strong cast whose ensemble pieces are note perfect, packed full of power and quite simply breath-taking. Based on the real stories of passengers aboard the ill-fated ship the ending is one we are all familiar with the characters however perhaps not. The hard-working cast slip effortlessly from one role into another, portraying passengers of all classes to great effect, a nod perhaps to the fact that once you take away the riches & finery of this world we’re all the same.

The plight of the 3rd class is particularly poignant in this production, they are in effect seen the same as the rats that inhabit the lower decks. Their hopes and dreams however soar high, perfectly portrayed in the song Lady’s Maid where burning ambitions are revealed as excitement builds for the new lives each 3rd class passenger yearns for unaware of their tragic fate. The Proposal/The Night was Alive also offers a touching opportunity to delve into the backstories of characters Barrett and Bride, beautifully delivered by Niall Sheehy and Oliver Marshall it is a real stand out moment within Act I.

While the production is visually impressive and the cast one of the most talented ensembles you’re likely to see the depth of characters is somewhat lacking. There are so many stories going on that you never really get the opportunity to connect or care about anyone, leaving the final scenes much less emotional than they should be. Characters while portrayed well aren’t given the time to develop or grow leaving the audience disconnected to their plight. It feel like quite a marmite production, while some audience members around me mumbled that it was too slow, many leapt to their feet at the end.

I wanted so much to love this production, the cast are outstanding, their delivery faultless, the set, costumes, songs and score all beautiful the emotional connection however was lacking for me, sadly this production never fully set sail.

Titanic the Musical on at The Lowry until Saturday 12th May tickets available here.