Thursday 26 September 2013

Theatre Review: The Light Princess (National Theatre, Lyttelton)



Jerry Springer: The Opera, London Road, the sublime Caroline, or Change: the musicals staged at the National Theatre during the reign of Sir Nicholas of Hytner have all been, in different ways, radical, challenging affairs that have stretched the form in new directions - a deliberate attempt, it would seem, to get away from the cosier, Broadway-leaning inclinations of Trevor Nunn’s tenure as artistic director of the theatre. The Light Princess, Tori Amos and Samuel Adamson’s swooningly ambitious adaptation of George MacDonald’s 1864 fairy-tale, demonstrates once again Hytner’s commitment to creative, non-conservative musical theatre programming. This much-anticipated show – the first foray for both writers into the musical genre – has been long in development, as my two interviews with Adamson (here and here) attest. But, on the evidence of last night’s staggeringly confident and rapturously received first preview, it’s been worth every single second of the wait.

Taking MacDonald’s story about a young girl cursed to have no gravity merely as their starting point, Amos, Adamson and director Marianne Elliott – herself flying high after War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – have fashioned a fantastically fierce, fresh, frank and funny feminist fable. You won’t find an evil spinster Aunt dispensing a curse in this version; instead, this story is – true to form for Amos – more concerned with the damage Daddies do.

The action unfolds in two warring kingdoms, Lagobel and Sealand (gorgeously rendered in Rae Smith’s sumptuous design), where the teenage heirs to the respective thrones, Princess Althea and Prince Digby, have reacted to the deaths of their mothers in contrasting ways. The response of the Princess - played and sung with breathtaking passion, biting wit and luscious sensuality by the stunning Rosalie Craig - is weightlessness, which is presented here as a psychologically-motivated escape route for the avoidance of pain. In contrast, Digby (excellent Nick Hendrix: as sweet of voice as he’s buff of bicep) has become heavy-hearted and solemn in his grief. When the two meet in the Wilderness that separates their territories, a love affair ensues – one that certainly doesn’t win the approval of their fathers or the populace.

Aided and abetted by many of her collaborators on her previous NT-originated successes (including Smith, choreographer Steven Hoggett and puppetry director Finn Caldwell), Elliott makes the production another thrilling “total theatre” experience: one that’s equal parts cutting-edge and traditional. A lovely animated prelude outlines the histories of the kingdoms, but a simple sheet serves initially as a lake for our two lovers to liaise in. As per War Horse, the creatures of the kingdoms are puppets, designed this time by Toby Olié. The most graceful of these is Digby’s majestic falcon companion Zephryus (Ben Thompson); the funniest a little pink mouse who gets a mighty gross-out moment. And the Princess’s lightness is conveyed by two means, with the undulating Craig sometimes borne aloft by wires, at others by the bodies of black-clad acrobats.

You might fear (as I did) that all this activity will swamp the story. But no. The narrative feels very intricately worked out by Amos and Adamson in terms of theme, imagery and metaphor, and all the elements enlisted by Elliott contribute to its lucid, expressive telling. There are some brilliantly surreal stage pictures which I won’t reveal, but suffice it to say that the director and her team find wonderful ways to bring the story’s revision of fairy-tale tropes to life and into a contemporary teen context that still feels timeless enough, not least in a sublime scene in which Althea’s father King Darius (Clive Rowe) enlists the help of a series of suitors to bring his daughter down to earth. (As in Wicked - a spiritual sister to this show in its revisionist attitude, near-homophonous heroines and firm female-focus - a song called “Defying Gravity” could easily find a home here.)

Then there’s the music. Supple and robust, delicate, playful and strident by turns, Amos’s score is a glorious thing, intricate, demanding and complex at times, instantly hummable at others, and Adamson’s book matches it for beauty, cheek and charm. Amos’s emotional range as an artist has always astounded, and she brings that to bear here in a quirkily structured, diverse score that can move fluidly from wild humour to melancholy, from swaggering aggression to the most tender of laments, in an instant. With her regular collaborator John Philip Shenale overseeing the orchestrations, liberal use of strings and woodwind, and - yeah! - a Bosendorfer in the pit (where dynamic Music Director/Supervisor Martin Lowe can be seen displaying his customary infectious exuberance), it’s perhaps no surprise that The Light Princess is closest to Amos’s classically-inspired Night of Hunters project musically. And yet it’s totally fresh and distinctive too: Amos is in no way resting on her laurels or repeating herself. There’s a stirring soul and gospel moment here, a pop/rock flourish there, but everything feels cohesive and organic, the music emerging from the protagonists and their ever-shifting emotional states.

There are some jaw-dropping duets, not only for Althea and Digby but for other characters too: a stunning sustained sequence finds the Princess’s loyal companion Piper (brilliant Amy Booth-Steel) fiercely challenging the King for his belligerence. Disgracefully wasted in The Hothouse, the great Clive Rowe does not go to waste here as the patriarch made tyrannous by loss. At one point scarily bellowing his belief in his own authority, he later gets a standout aria that’s one of the production’s most intensely moving moments. And the contributions of an exceptionally well-drilled ensemble are also very fine.

Meanwhile, Amos’s lyrical dexterity – her delight in word play, allusion, assonance and alliteration – is also on display. Book and lyrics allow genuinely complicated emotions into them, and when Digby speaks about being indoctrinated by his father’s beliefs, one hears the voice of many Amos characters, challenging themselves to overcome their reliance upon others’ opinions and judgements. There’s a gorgeously rebellious spirit to this musical, and a clear political dimension too: here the “duties” of marriage and monarchy – as expressions of patriarchal power – weigh a girl (and a boy) down. (Which makes the conclusion, for all its cheeky twists, look a tad too conventional, it must be said.)

For those of us to whom Amos’s music has meant so very much over the years, it’s especially exciting and moving to see her venturing into this new form and thriving there. But I think it’s fair to say that even those who aren’t dedicated Toriphiles will find plenty to engage and beguile them here. “I don’t fly; I float,” Althea is given to reminding those around her. This show flies and floats. It’s an awesome achievement for all concerned and deserves to run and run.

The Light Princess is currently booking until January 2014. Further information at the National Theatre website.

22 comments:

  1. ''Amos’s score is a glorious thing, intricate, demanding and complex at times, instantly hummable at others'' - it is NOT hummable! Can't recall a single melody - it all sounded like lyrical wafty repetitive faff (and I love Tori Amos). The show is beautiful to look at and the cast do a fantastic job but the book is flawed and not as witty and intelligent as it could be, and the songs are over indulgent and far too long. And that random curve ball moment at the end of the show with the falconer etc, - totally out of sync with the rest of the show. V odd! This is not in the same league as 'War Horse' and 'Incident..' - stunning to look at but long and indecisive as to what it is. So interested to see what other reviewers say.

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    1. Yes, you are both right. But you are Anonymous and the writer a seasoned, respected voice. But don't despair, keep on broadening those horisons and hopefully you'll be able to keep up at a point. Cudos! (Like they say in the theatre) xxx

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  2. Well, since you love Amos, I trust you’ll at least be able to recall the final, rather familiar melody. ;) Couldn’t disagree more about your suggestion that the show's just good to look at. Yes, the score's complex but there are hooks and strong melody lines all over the place, and the segues, the variations, seemed to me to be brilliantly worked out, alongside the show-stoppers such as Rowe's big number. Close attention's required, I guess.

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  3. I agree and disagree.. stunning to look at, tunes completely not memorable but very enjoyable all the same.. and some of the songs with clive went on a bit.. the bit at the end where he is sad was awful and I was bored.. but for the rest of the show I was completely besotted - visually stunning and a few funny movements. Gorgeous voices and I thoroughly enjoyed. Isn't Nick Hendricks gorgeous?

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  4. Went to see this with school the other night: as a teenage girl, I was supposed to fall within the demographic that related to the show the most but I and most of my classmates found it merely okay. Indeed, the set design, costuming, choreography and singing were all stunning but all I remember of the music were a few choice hooks - "Everything is changing/Here in Lagobel" etc and the script was severely lacking in several places. The best moments for me were (SPOILERS!) the darker, more allegorical moments where the sequence of suitors try to bring Althea down and the brief flashes of political satire about the monarchy and dictatorships in the two kingdoms. (END SPOILERS.)

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  5. More My Little Pony than War Horse, I am afraid - I couldn't agree more with the first comment. And the point about fairy tales is that they smuggle meaning and subversion through symbol and subtlety, not telegraph them ahead with relentless predictability. Some stunning talent on show, though, and I wish this team - not least Tori Amos - had been working with more substantial underlying material. The sad thing is that Fraser's original is itself more substantial, and much richer in terms of psychological drama.

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  6. The piece has huge potential - the cast were excellent , particularly the two leads and the puppeteers who supported them (literally) The set-design was gorgeous - dreamy, evocative and uplifting. The show just needs a some decisive editing - It's far too long for the the genre; the whole score needs tightening up with repetition taken out. It would be much better show with careful pruning. Yes, Nick Hendrix and Amy Booth Rowe looked and sounded stunning.

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  7. Thank you for the comments, all. There is A LOT to take in on a first viewing, but I saw it again on Saturday and can confirm one thing: it is full of the most amazing, powerful, glorious tunes. The structures are unusual, and the melodies don’t always repeat themselves in expected ways that spoon-feed the audience, but, boy, the tunes are there. And always, always connected to the emotional states of the characters; their conflicts and confrontations. The extended sequence of Althea’s first flight (with Piper taking over from the King as her duet partner) is absolutely staggering in the way it builds, extends, subverts itself. James, I’m afraid you're confusing your George MacDonalds here, but I really can’t agree that the original story (for all its wit and charm) has the depth or psychological drama of this take, which is so rooted in grief and loss. And Isabella, the political elements seemed like much more than "brief flashes" to me. (Which is why the conclusion feels rather compromised: it endorses what the whole show's been critiquing.) All the stuff about the public’s “crocodile woe” when apparently grieving for Althea's mother certainly has a particular, very British resonance, doesn't it? :) Anyway, I think it's a really, really rich work and I hope audiences meet the challenge of it.

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    1. Brilliant how she can sing so well while contorted, suspended from strings or being held up on the acrobats' feet. Clever effects, sure, they stole the show. But some of the most boring, monotonous music I've ever heard on stage. Hummable? Maybe hummable by a Tori Amos fan because of the similarity to her previous music.

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  8. I saw it with my family on the second previews night, and we loved it. The set is stunning and the the voices are gorgeous and the music is great. However, the "lake" part in the middle was far too long for a normal audience, my daughter just went to sleep at that point, and woke up after the interval. Hopefully it will be tightened, this is what previews are for.
    But it was definitely worth the wait.

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  9. nice animations too, i thought they worked well with the music

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  10. Stunning stagecraft, compelling imaginative bursts of creative genius lost on a stunningly dull libretto. I'm an advocate of national theater but one has to wonder how much money was spent on this overblown piece of crap. It aint goin' anywhere folks. I believe that a national theater needs to have the opportunity to fail...but not when the production values are so expensive. This should have died in a workshop. Who was it that made the decision to produce this? Taxpayers should be outraged that in a time of austerity the National has the gumption to put "musical" on their stage. Tori please choose a different medium. The theater aint it.

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    1. Oh well, never mind. MAMMA MIA’S still playing, so perhaps you’ll be happier with that? Meanwhile anyone who, gosh, is actually willing to open themselves up to some new, complex, beautiful music, closely connected to story and character and integrated with the “stunning stagecraft” you mention, can go to this. Judging by the audience (if not the mainstream press) response there seems to be quite a few people who *are* willing. And kudos to Hytner and co for having the balls and brains to put it on.

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  11. Alex, are you on The National's payroll per chance? 'The Light Princess' is honestly not all that!! 'More faults than the Northern Line' someone accurately said on Twitter. Time will tell... will it transfer to the West End? That will decide whether this show has got the legs you say it has. Sadly I don't think it does and when its run ends at The National, so will the show.... the jury's out!

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    1. Ha. 'Fraid not. (See here: http://boycottingtrends.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/end-of-year-review-theatre-10-favourite.html). A personal response to the show, that's all. The review makes no predictions as to whether TLP will transfer or not. But I maintain that it deserves to run and run, as a show that's so rich musically, emotionally and visually, and that benefits from repeat viewings.

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  12. I can't say that I agree with you a whole lot, Alex Ramón. I went to see the musical with my school, and yes it was quite pleasant to watch but many of your comments are being slightly too nice quite frankly. The plot wasn't at all original and as for the songs, although many of them were nice on the ear the lyrics were often very clichéd. Basically, it is not worth the hype. :)

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  13. I came out singing the staging NOT the songs which were interminably bland

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  14. Well, the debate goes on. I'd advise opening your ears. "Just a touch."

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  15. I'm 100% with you Alex the show needs opened ears. I thought it was wonderful :)

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  16. I'm finding it all rather erroneous that critics are so quick to throw immediate, lazy criticism toward music that has been crafted over years and years of work. I understand that people like a good hook, but more and more often these days music criticism is equated with one's ability to immediately remember something. "Good" music in a musical has become "what I walk out humming," which is incredibly reductive of what can be achieved through the technicalities of music. Amos's music clearly strives for something more time-favorable and complex. The four songs that have been officially released have astounded me with their inventiveness, but this is something that has grown with each listen rather than knocked me over upon first hearing the music. All four songs have featured quite creative and unusual chord progressions, intricate counterpoint in the arrangements, and inventively chromatic melodies. I think it's wonderful that Amos has managed to write such intelligent and complex music. The problem here is that people want to be wowed by a first impression, but this music refuses to do that. Memorability comes with time and multiple listens, especially when you're hearing twenty songs all in a row. I'm finding this to be so much more rewarding than immediately hummable tunes.

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    1. Thanks for the wonderful comment, Corey. Needless to say, I couldn't agree more. I've seen the show eight times now and the score continues to reveal so many fresh details. The criticism from (most of) the mainstream press has been a joke: hastily cobbled together responses which make next to no attempt to get to grips with the complexity and intricacy of the music and its connection to story and character. And some audience members, unfortunately, have been only too willing to follow suit. But anyway, the score’s there, and I’d say it’s one for the ages. I hope you get to hear the whole thing soon. Meanwhile, look out for further discussion of it here shortly. :)

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