Fables For a Boy continues at the Lost Theatre, London until 24 April.
Star rating: two stars ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
With effective publicity designs, a well-written synopsis, an attractive web site and an enticing video taster, this new musical promised to be very interesting. Sadly, the actual production, presented at the Lost Theatre, is somewhat disappointing.
Many of today’s new musicals describe themselves as ‘a different or new kind of musical’ when the reality is they are not! Granted, Fables For a Boy is new, but the story has more than a hint of Pink Floyd’s The Wall and The Who’s Tommy, sadly without the brilliant music.
It certainly isn’t that different. Describing the piece as not suitable for people under 16 years old gives the wrong impression too. Apart from a few commonly used expletives, the production is not dark enough to disturb younger audiences, although they may find it a little tedious.
Fables For a Boy is described as a touching tale of a young boy’s struggle in a world that is against him. He escapes his harsh reality aided by his grandmother and the fantastic fables she tells. The stories transport him to a safe world of his own making, where his life is easier to understand.
The cast consists of eight young actors, all with interesting credits, but who struggle with some of the material, especially vocally. To be fair, several of them are playing characters much older than they are – perhaps the production needed the gravitas of more mature performers. Bethan Maddocks, as the Grandmother, stands out and makes a valiant attempt at a difficult role. However, the character is over-exposed and could do with being trimmed.
Running at two hours and 45 minutes including interval, the production needs to be drastically cut by 30 to 40 minutes (getting rid of the school room scenes would be a good start).
The use of puppetry is a nice idea, and the young boy puppet looks great, but the puppeteers need to be unobtrusive (think of the goose in War Horse – you always watch the puppet, not the actor working it).
Many of the fables are drearily long, so you lose interest, and some of the scenes are bizarre. The masked creatures, moving furniture and trying to give a sinister feel to the proceedings, are an annoying distraction too. To be fair, there is a show trying to escape, but it requires more work and a great deal of tightening.
Congratulations to Michael Woods for his excellent sound design. The lighting, designed by Adrian Sandvaer, is atmospheric, although a little more illumination in some places would have been appreciated.
Fables for a Boy is produced and written by Adrian Sandvaer, co-writers are Ragnhild Kristoffersen and Gabriel Owen, music is composed by Sindre Kayman and the director is Ryan Duncan. The team is clearly passionate about this production, and on opening night they had a lot of audience support, but the script and songs need to be revisited.
For all its faults, some people will love this show and any attempt at creating new musical theatre deserves to be supported. The Lost Theatre in the Wandsworth Road, is a vibrant, friendly venue to visit, so if you have a free evening pop along and see what you think.
Yvonne I’Anson
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