Paddington Bear’s secret weapon that turns an ordinary musical into a great one

Savoy Theatre

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre. Photo: Johan Persson

Paddington The Musical without Paddington would be just, well, The Musical. Then we’d notice that the plot, taken from the first film, is a bit flimsy. Tom Fletcher’s songs tend toward the generic. Some of the effects are a bit panto for a musical spectacular. But, transported on a wave of love for the little bear from Peru, the show is determined that you will be moved by its message of kindness, caring and tolerance. Forget any criticism, resistance is futile. You are overcome by a script from Jessica Swales that’s as sweet as marmalade.

Although tolerance is a theme of Michael Bond’s books, Paddington has become a focus for a kinder Britain. The bear is now a hymn to multicultural London and this tale of an illegal immigrant seems like a riposte to people who promote hate of those who simply seek a better life on our shores. ‘It doesn’t matter that he’s a different species’ declares Mr Brown. ‘Everyone is different, and everyone can fit in,’ says Paddington. I fear if the Reform Party forms a government, they’ll bring down the curtain!

It helps that the cast are so enthusiastic. They sell the show like chuggers in the high street. And then, there is the bear himself. A superbly conceived ‘skin’, as they say in theatrical circles when describing outfits that completely cover the actor. It’s a bit like the costumes they use in The Masked Singer but here Paddington is a perfect physical realisation of Peggy Fortnum‘s original drawings. Designed by Tahra Zafar, it is moved from within by an actual human (a brilliant Abbie Purvis on the night I saw it, but usually Arti Shah) with eye and mouth movements operated off stage by James Hameed who also provides his voice (and is occasionally seen on stage in strange meta moments). Between them, they make the bear as alive as any of the actors around him.

The Brown family are just what you expect. Adrian Der Gregorian is the risk averse but increasingly confident father and Amy Ellen Richardson the creative, rebellious mother. Bonnie Langford as the lodger Mrs Bird is astonishingly good, not only a musical legend with a powerful voice but still knocking out splits and high kicks at the age of 61. Victoria Hamilton-Barritt with a deeply reverberating voice is so frightening as Paddington’s would-be stuffer that I’ suspect younger children will be hiding under their seat. Teddy Kempner is a loveable Mr Gruber. Timi Akinyosade, Amy Booth-Steel, Tom Edden and Tarrin Callender all add to the fun.

Tom Pye‘s pretty set designs make clever use of projections which soak the stage in colourful images, and there are back projected drawings which remind us of Paddington’s literary origins. And Director Luke Sheppard keeps the whole thing moving at a pace, even if the final chase becomes a bit haphazard.

Paddington is an innocent creature who offers unconditional love and trust. What kind of cold-hearted cynic wouldn’t return that love, and take care of this bear?

Paddington The Musical can be seen at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End. Paul advises booking at least six months in advance to obtain the best prices.
Paul paid for his ticket.

Gay love story throws in romance, heartbreak, and the kitchen sink

Actors Mike Faist plays a harmonica while he and Lucas Hedges crouch round a camp fire in the stage production of Brokeback Mountain at sohoplace theatre in London in June 2023 — Mike Faist and Lucas Hedges in Brokeback Mountain

Brokeback Mountain is the heartbreaking story of a forbidden love that lasts a lifetime. And the stage version by Ashley Robinson, based on the original short story by Annie Proulx, is excellent at conveying both its romance and its anguish. Unfortunately, it has also ended my love affair with Sohoplace Theatre.

My disappointment wasn’t with the play itself or the acting or the songs . It was with the production. As you may know from my enthusiastic reviews of Medea and Marvellous, Sohoplace is a theatre in the round, but it seemed like this production had been designed for a studio theatre but had had to settle for Sohoplace while still being in denial that the audience is on all four sides there.

When you perform a show in the round, you need to keep at least one actor facing the audience as much as possible but the unquestionably talented director Jonathan Butterell – he directed Everybody’s Talking About Jamie– took some strange decisions.

For example, the two main protagonists regularly huddle in one corner of the stage by a camp fire with their back to two thirds of the audience. A tent, blocks some sight lines for a while. The production even throws in a kitchen sink. The latter rises from the floor on one side of the stage for a number of domestic scenes and blocks the view for those of us on that side (Stalls row A low numbers). One of my friends who was at the performance said he felt he’d seen a good play about plumbing. And I still don’t know who Ennis’ wife Alma remarried.

View of the stage from the front row of the stalls

Then again, I had a great view of the pained looks passing between Ennis and Alma as they stood at the sink, which three-quarters of the audience must have missed. Tom Pye is the brilliant award-winning designer of My Neighbour Totoro but, on this occasion, his set seemed to ignore the needs of an in-the-round production.

I can’t say who in particular was responsible but I do feel somebody should have looked at this production from all angles and pointed out the restricted views. That’s assuming the producers care whether people who’ve paid good money to see the show can actually see the show. (And, yes, I did buy my ticket.)

Well-crafted, superbly acted

You will almost certainly be familiar with the story, thanks to the film. Two cowboys Jack and Ennis are assigned the job of looking after a flock of sheep on a remote mountain. They gradually get to know and like one another until one cold night, they huddle together in a tent, and desire takes over. Nothing untoward about that except this is Wyoming in 1963, a time and place where Homosexuality is not only illegal but liable to get you killed.

This explains why neither admits their homosexuality until their bodies touch. Here and now, gay love stories are commonplace but even today a gay man will have come across prejudice and threats, and it’s a timely moment to be reminded of the effect of homophobia, given the rise in legal discrimination against homosexuality in some US states, and the introduction of the death penalty in Uganda for what the law calls ‘aggravated homosexuality’.

Although Jack suggests they could live together, Ennis holds back, trying to maintain a sham marriage, but lives for occasional meetings with Jack in remote places. I’m assuming you’ve seen the film or read the story so I can say Jack takes more risks than Ennis and with disastrous consequences. Ashley Robinson tells their story with a deep understanding and a superb ear for dialogue. It’s hard to believe this is his theatrical debut.

The two handsome American actors wear their parts like gloves. I felt their love and their pain.

Mike Faist with crooked good looks and ready smile is the reckless extrovert Jack. Lucas Hedges is the nervous, taciturn Ennis. They are totally believable as an affectionate couple: I remember a head resting casually on a chest that caught perfectly the comfort lovers experience in each other’s company.

Emily Fairn was convincing as Ennis’s bemused and badly done by wife, another victim of the situation who is by turns sad, understanding and angry.

I wasn’t sure about the presence of an older Ennis. He does appear in the prologue to the short story, to kick it off as it were, but I was puzzled by his continuing appearances on stage, without giving any commentary. It may have been a way of making clear that Ennis had never come out, so his only love was Jack, but, in practice, like the sink, he just got in the way.

There was a kind of commentary in Dan Gillespie Sells’ songs. You may know his work with The Feeling or his music for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Here he echoes American country and western music, with songs that are plaintive and full of deep emotion. Providing a moving counterpoint to the onstage action, they are beautifully performed by Eddi Reader and the slightly off stage band (at least they didn’t get in the way!).

Brokeback Mountain is a well-crafted, superbly acted play. I would love to have seen more of it.

Brokeback Mountain runs at sohoplace until 12 August 2023.

Paul Seven Lewis paid for his ticket

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