Longitude continues at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London until 7 July 2024.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Like all great intellectuals, I learned everything I know from musical theatre. Why read a book about American History when you can watch Hamilton? Why spend seven years in law school when you can watch Legally Blonde? Thanks to Longitude, I am now also an expert in 18th-century navigation and clockmaking.
Writer and producer Kaz Moloney has teamed up with director Amanda Noar and composers David Moloney and William Godfree to adapt Roberto Trippini’s original book into a musical. The story begins with the announcement of a £20,000 government prize to be awarded to whomever can construct a timepiece accurate enough to determine position at sea, and then follows carpenter-turned-watchmaker John Harrison and his family in their quest to claim this fortune.
The true story is a compelling one, particularly in its detailing of the institutional corruption that meant John Harrison had to fight for decades to get the recognition he deserved. Abigail Brodie is superb in her portrayal of eccentric authority figures who help and hinder the Harrisons in their quest. She is ably supported by Troy Yim – who excels in a multitude of roles – and a scene-stealing Alex Lyne as Harrison’s conniving rival.
Sometimes the villains of the piece do lack nuance, but that can be expected in a 90-minute plus interval musical. Other instances of the writing falling into tropes are less easily excused – particularly his unnamed wife given little else to do but nag and pour cold water on her brilliant husband’s brilliant dreams. There are also some miss-steps in tone and pacing – the extra-simplistic explanations of the science butting up against the very adult tragedy of lives lost at sea, the tendency to dwell too long away from the central protagonist – but minor niggles aside, the play is engaging and brings a lesser-told story from history to life in a delightfully entertaining way.
Despite her character not being as fleshed out as she deserves, Claire Russell is a standout performer in her role as Harrison’s wife. She brings true emotion to the part and has a particularly strong singing voice. As John Harrison himself, David Phipps-Davis is wonderful. Perfectly charming and humble as a simple carpenter from Hull, but also capable of intense anger and sadness when the drama calls for it. His voice is also quite remarkable, with some particularly impressive, venue-shaking low notes.
It’s rare to see any musical without a young romantic couple, and Imogen Opie as Harrison’s daughter and Liam Bradbury as her beau are a delight together. Their love story may not be strictly integral to the main plot, but it does add colour to what in less-talented hands could be a rather dry and dark show.
Indeed, the darkness inherent to the story is the most rewarding part. Amongst all the charming comedy and musical numbers, we are never allowed to forget the reason Harrison’s invention was so important: it saved lives. Harrison’s own son died at sea, and another son – played with formidable stage presence by Samuel Chisnall – came close on a separate voyage. John Harrison considers any loss at sea to be a great tragedy on the scale of his own, and this motivation to innovate and save lives is the heart of the show.
The other great success of Longitude is its score. The micro-orchestra of James Cleeve and Doug Grannell do a superb job tonight and make it easy to imagine how rich this music would sound on an even bigger scale. It is wonderfully old-school, with some orchestrations and cadences even harking back as far as Gilbert and Sullivan-style light opera. Moloney’s lyrics are often affecting, though there are some moments of awkward rigidity which will surely be ironed out as the piece goes on to bigger and better things.
Longitude is a great example of a passion project becoming a wonderfully entertaining and educational musical in the hands of talented creatives and performers. Noar’s direction and choreography keeps the nine-strong cast bouncing around the stage, and there are some great moments to make you think and learn. It is still early days for this imperfect but thoroughly likeable piece of theatre, but it isn’t hard to imagine great success in its future.
Ian Bowkett
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