Kyla and Nicole Fox in Identical at Nottingham Playhouse. Picture: Pamela Raith
Identical continues at Nottingham Playhouse until 14 August 2022. The production will then play a transfer run at The Lowry in Salford from 19 August until 3 September.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
Based on the 1949 book Lisa and Lottie (which itself inspired Disney’s The Parent Trap franchise), Identical tells the story of two young girls who meet at summer camp, and take an instant dislike to each other due to the fact that they look exactly alike. After spending more time with each other, Lisa and Lottie realise they are sisters, and that their parents separated when they were babies, each taking one child and living in different countries. Deciding they want to rebuild their family and meet the other parent that they’ve never known, the girls switch places before returning home, pretending to be the other and liaising in secret to try and rebuild their parents’ marriage. But their father Johan’s new romance with icy ballerina Irene threatens to throw a spanner in their plan.
The story will be recognisable to several generations following the successful 1961 and 1998 films, and there is much for today’s youngsters to enjoy here too. However it’s a bit too “nice”, and you can almost feel waves of vanilla coming off the stage. The best children’s shows have a certain darker edge or danger to them (Matilda, Bugsy Malone, School of Rock), and that’s what’s missing here.
Identical tries, with the Hansel and Gretel ballet and Irene playing The Witch and becoming a metaphor for the “wicked stepmother” in the girls’ story, but that’s the only real element of conflict to be found, and the show is less interesting because of it. Stuart Paterson’s book again is sweet rather than sharp, sprinkled with a few good lines but otherwise in very safe territory. Characters are largely two-dimensional, particularly Lisalotte and Johan as the girls’ parents, who have little chance to show who they are aside from “parents” (although Lisalotte’s ‘We Were Young’ scene and song do offer at least a glimpse of backstory). But this is Lisa and Lottie’s story, and the girls are written well, with distinct personalities and identities.
The production itself looks great, being a hybrid of large video screens enhanced by additional pieces of set. The video design by Douglas O’Connell is impressive, cleverly changing locations and providing a lot of life and colour. This works well alongside Robert Jones’ set, which slots in around the screens and give a great sense of depth and space.
No strangers to a good tune, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe’s score is decent enough, with some really pretty melodies, although perhaps not as cohesively strong as some of their earlier efforts, with few memorable standouts. ‘You’re My Sister’, ‘If I Became You’ and ‘Identical’ are all perfectly lovely, but somehow it lacks the spark that made Soho Cinders so instantly listenable, or the additions to Mary Poppins and Half A Sixpence so memorable. It does however take a dark turn briefly during a nightmare scene, where the witch tells the Lisalotte and Johan in a twisted flashback to Take One Or the Other’ and choose between their newborns, in a deliciously macabre number that injects some much-needed fire into Act I.
Perhaps the biggest problem with Identical is its length. Clearly a fan of long running times, director Trevor Nunn brings the show in at just under three hours with interval. The man who originally brought Les Misérables to the Barbican in a four-hour epic again stretches this story out, and makes it far too long. Pace regularly drops throughout, and particularly the final stretch which feels like it takes forever to reach. Visually what Nunn has achieved is spot-on, but some fine tuning is needed in the execution of the story to stop a lot of fidgeting and restlessness from the audience.
Three teams of twins play the lead roles, and on the reviewed performance, Nicole and Kyla Fox took to the stage, who both did an excellent job. Both were funny, energetic, with great voices in their songs. Their natural chemistry as real sisters also gave them a great onstage bond which was lovely to watch.
As Lisalotte and Johan respectively, Emily Tierney and James Darch do the best with what they’ve got, both sounding strong and making an impossibly attractive couple, although the material they’re given does result in them being bland as characters.
Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson is an exquisite ballet dancer and makes a visually striking witch, but is somewhat tonally uneven in her performance as Irene, seemingly unsure if she’s going for maliciously cold or just disinterested. The ensemble also does well with what they have but their numbers do feel like they could be cut (or at least cut down) with no detriment to the story, which would help with that running time.
As a treat for the kids, Identical does a good enough job to be entertaining, providing some likeable tunes and an engaging story, but is significantly hampered by an overlong duration and slightly too much sweetness. There is a good show in here, and it could go on to find real success with some reworking to hopefully give it a bit less sugar and a bit more bite.
Rob Bartley
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