Christina Modestou, George Maguire, Samuel Thomas, Maisey Bawden and Gregor Duncan in 35mm – A Musical Exhibition at The Other Palace, London. Picture: Nick Brittain Photography
35mm – A Musical Exhibition continues at The Other Palace, London until 30 September.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
Anyone who really believes that a picture is worth a thousand words obviously hasn’t been subjected to a forced viewing of a relative’s latest holiday snaps.
But, according to Adam Lenson, director of this bold, if uneven visually enhanced musical, photographs have the capacity to both scare and fascinate, and here selected images provide curious, creative pegs on which the songs hang.
Based on photographs by Matthew Murphy and with music and lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver, some numbers fit seamlessly while others, to use an obvious photographic term, just lack focus.
After a tentative start, it’s really only when the instantly impressive Christina Modestou sings ‘The Party Goes With You’ that the production’s musical and visual remit starts to gel and the cast’s confidence visibly grows.
Wisely, there are no gaps between songs as any protracted dialogue would kill any hard-earned impetus – certainly at times this struggles to maintain your total interest.
But, if any song fails to hit the musical mark, there’s always the accompanying image to focus on, each member of the audience no doubt having their own, unique private and personal interpretation of the selected photographs.
The cast also has the advantage of being an engaging pot pourri of personalities, ranging from the clean cut Gregor Duncan to the tattoo-festooned, enigmatic George Maguire.
Thankfully, just when the music starts sounding somewhat formulaic and a little repetitive, up pops a number like the haunting ‘Cut You a Piece’, immaculately sung by Samuel Thomas.
And, for a welcome slice of musical fun amid all the soul searching and emotional turmoil, ‘The Ballad of Sara Berry’, the ‘queen of high school land,’ is just about perfect, the whole cast revelling in the opportunity to finally let its hair down, their collective exuberance limited only by the small studio stage.
This is certainly a brave creative venture and producing memorable Fringe musicals is surely all about risk taking.
Like when you used to get your photos back from Snappy Snaps and the like, there was always a few that were under-developed, some that made you laugh and those that saddened you – 35 mm’s score in a nutshell. Some songs burst into vibrant musical colour, others are merely monochrome.
Derek Smith
www.theotherpalace.co.uk/whats-on/35mm-a-musical-exhibition
* Look out for our interview with GEORGE MAGUIRE – coming soon!
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