Max Alexander-Taylor in The Lion at the Southwark Playhouse, London. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
The Lion continues at Southwark Playhouse, London until 25 June 2022.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Men will literally spend £10k on guitars instead of going to therapy. Some will even perform a one-man show about their predicaments, and then go on to sanction adaptations of that show starring other actors. The “I am a talented songwriter so you must listen to me complain” genre of one person show is well-trodden and sometimes exhausting territory, but to dismiss it entirely is to miss out on rare and beautiful gems like Benjamin Scheuer’s The Lion.
Producer Danielle Tarento’s new staging of this piece succeeds on all fronts. Composer/performer Scheuer’s 2014 original was a deeply personal and affecting work that developed quite the cult following, and having the author tell the story was a key selling point. Any replacement would have to not only win over and emotionally engage an audience for 75 minutes, but also possess the virtuosic guitar skills required for Scheuer’s score. Even in a city overflowing with talented performers, this is a difficult part to cast.
New ‘Ben’ Max Alexander-Taylor charmingly mills around the Southwark Playhouse’s ‘Little’ space before the show begins. Guitars are tuned and the audience are greeted, joked with, and even teased. The bond between audience and performer is thus established, so effectively that we don’t need any more cue than Alexander-Taylor moving to the centre of the stage to know to quieten down for the show to begin.
The room is filled with filament bulbs, which stay on for the first few songs. There is a strong feeling of every person in the space being brought together to share in this story, as opposed to the ‘star’ being immediately illuminated and distanced from us. The small wooden stage is used about half the time, with Alexander-Taylor spending the rest of the time at ground level with us. The atmosphere is perfect, and Simon Kenny’s set is a big part of it. The space feels comfortable and safe, with little to distract attention from the story and performance spare a row of five very nice guitars.
The £10k of guitars mentioned at the beginning aren’t there for the sake of showing off. The songs of The Lion span various styles and tunings that necessitate multiple instruments. For instance, a small Martin travel guitar provides a boxy ‘skiffle’-esque tone, whereas a bigger-bodied Martin, an Eastman, and a Lowden are used for the fuller-sounding timbres of the majority of the show’s numbers. Finally, an electric Gibson Les Paul is on hand for the rebellious rock songs of Ben’s teenage years. These electric songs may be a little more subdued than ideal – the overlapping frequency range of the electric guitar and the human voice mean these two instruments are incredibly difficult to balance – but sound designer Andrew Johnson does an outstanding job otherwise. The all-important lyrics are always crystal clear and amplification is used minimally enough to ensure a very intimate, acoustic experience.
As alluded to earlier, Scheuer’s songs are not simple three-chord folk ditties, but neither are they traditional musical theatre fare. Despite drawing influence from many different guitar styles, the show does have a strong musical identity featuring technical displays of picking, plus unusual chord voicings and choices. Alexander-Taylor performs the most delicate of ballads and the most shouty of rock songs with impressive commitment. This is far from a recital: at points emotion overtakes finger work, and he looks directly into the eyes of audience members, connecting throughout. He carries this over into the storytelling sections between the songs and is as thoroughly enrapturing as you could hope.
All this, of course, is in service of Scheuer’s story. It is a true story of growing up, navigating familial and romantic relationships, and even mortality. The piece is structured perfectly to keep the evening galloping along with humour and intensity in equal measure. As the powerful ending arrives, its effectiveness is bolstered by the realisation that we haven’t been watching a multi-million-pound production rife with special effects and tricks, we have been taken on this journey through brilliant songs, carefully considered directing (from Alex Stenhouse and Sean Daniels), and a virtuosic but unfailingly human performance by Max Alexander-Taylor. It is a production that will win legions of devoted fans – catch it in this perfectly intimate space while you still can.
Ian Bowkett
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