Picture: Hope Holmes/Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
A Little Night Music continues at the Assembly Rooms – Music Hall (alternating with Fountain of You) until 25 August 2024.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Such a talented cast belies that this is a student production (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), capturing practically every nuance of Sondheim’s wonderful and witty observations of complex and often comedic relationships.
The staging is clear and simple; the group of ‘Liebeslieder’ managing every cross-over with flair in narration and audience rapport, keep the show moving along seamlessly. “Don’t you love farce?”, a line from ‘Send in the Clowns’, informs the pacey staging of top speed ins and outs of human attraction and the consequences along the way. Full marks for clarity.
The central figures of Desiree and Fredrik are served very well by Anna Toogood and Shane Ferris. Musicality and personality are nailed perfectly with a frisson of rapport, particularly through ‘You Must Meet My Wife’. The said wife, Anne (Emi Kitagawa) has a beautiful clear soprano voice. Her character seems increasingly gauche as she works her way through her story.
The other members of the families have their own storylines to pursue: the unshockable ennui of Madam Armfeldt (Michaela Elise Fox) shows that Desiree is an apple that stayed close to the tree, whereas Fredrika (Tyler Ramsay) is all wide-eyed innocence. This pairs well with Marty Pascall’s portrayal of Henrik – a somewhat shy son wrestling with his own demons.
However, all of these characters are somewhat cast into shade with the arrival of Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm and his wife, Countess Charlotte. David Joseph Healy dominates the stage both in terms of physical and vocal talents. This tall young man shows great promise and magical comic timing. As his wife, Jen Cassidy is utterly wonderful with a depth and self-deprecation that sits perfectly with ‘Every Day a Little Death’. The detail in their interplay is a true delight.
Cassidy is also credited as the assistant director to Tom Cooper. The direction is assured throughout as is the musical direction shared between Hudson Crowe and Noah Pott.
A full-length show is a luxury at the Fringe – this is as luxurious as you could wish for. Delicious.
Fiona Orr
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.