Side by Side by Sondheim – Byre Theatre, St Andrews

Side by Side by Sondheim was performed at the Byre Theatre, St Andrews.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Last month, the lucky residents of St Andrews were treated to a weekend of Sondheim courtesy of a student production of the revue show Side by Side by Sondheim. This compendium piece, built from numbers taken from shows written before Sweeney Todd (1979), was of particular interest to me in my capacity as Chair of The Stephen Sondheim Society… not just because it’s a rarely produced show but also because the student performers had been given creative guidance from the multiple-award-winning musical theatre luminaries Jason Carr and Lucy Schaufer.

Side by Side by Sondheim was conceived by the actor David Kernan in 1976 in answer to a plea from Cleo Laine and John Dankworth for a fundraiser in support of The Stables, their theatre in Wavendon, Buckinghamshire.

Kernan, then starring as Count Malcolm in the original London production of A Little Night Music at the Adelphi Theatre, called upon the services of the show’s assistant musical director, Stuart Pedlar, and chums Millicent Martin and Julia McKenzie, to craft a revue of their favourite songs by the as-yet largely unsung Sondheim (in the UK, at least). Raconteur Ned Sherrin joined as director and narrator.

With the support of an up and coming young impresario by the name of Cameron Mackintosh, the show ended up enjoying a decent spell (over 800 performances) in the West End. It even made it into the nominations list for Best New Musical at the 1976 Olivier Awards, although it lost out to A Chorus Line. Amazingly – talk about carrying coals to Newcastle – it even ended up on Broadway, with the original cast, no less, again qualifying for Best Musical, ultimately losing out to Annie at the 1977 Tony Awards.

When looking to stage their first ever musical theatre production, Byre Opera – the opera company of the theatre founded in St Andrews in 1933, literally in a cow byre (cowshed)! – turned to this Sondheim tasting platter. Side by Side by Sondheim was influential in burnishing the composer-lyricist’s reputation in the UK, and as this production attests, it continues to be a wonderful introduction to the man and his music.

Despite having no songs after Pacific Overtures – and in this case, just the one number: ‘Pretty Lady’ – Side by Side by Sondheim is the perfect introduction to the master composer-lyricist… and his collaborators, as you’ll find a couple of ‘half-Sondheims’ in the shape of ‘If Momma Was Married’ from Gypsy, ‘A Boy Like That/I Have a Love’ from West Side Story and, one my favourites, ‘We’re Gonna Be Alright’ from Do I Hear a Waltz? Otherwise, it’s an early Best-Of album of material from Forum, A Little Night Music, Company, Evening Primrose, Anyone Can Whistle and Follies, plus one-offs such as ‘The Boy From…’ and ‘I Never Do Anything Twice’.

The Byre Theatre’s ties to St Andrew’s University and its generously well-equipped Laidlaw Music Centre makes for a perfect pairing. There are no undergraduate music courses at the university, but the student body comprises many young performers with experience in amateur theatre groups, chambers choirs, youth orchestras and choral societies; some have even previously studied a music degree before attending St Andrews. No shortage of talent, then.

To bring Side by Side to life, Michael Downes, the university’s director of music, brought on board the Tony-nominated composer, orchestrator and musical director Jason Carr to take care of the musical side of things, and the Grammy-Award winning mezzo-soprano Lucy Schaufer to direct. Again, no shortage of talent.

The combination was destined to be a winning one, and indeed this all-too-brief production was something special – certainly the rival of any professional offering I’ve seen.

Whereas the original show shared the 30 or so musical numbers between just three singers plus one narrator, here, the parts were divided between eight, and the narration dropped. The risk could’ve been the loss of a connection between audience and performer, as there was not the same opportunity to get to know their personalities, but this wasn’t an issue. Each singer occupied a unique space in the revue and each made their own connection with the audience. Personalities definitely emerged.

Sadly, the otherwise informative programme didn’t credit performers with specific numbers, but in any case, alphabetically is the only fair way to credit this brilliant cast: Ben Hayes, Pavlina Ivanova, Catriona Kadirkamanathan, Emily Kemp, Judith Somerville, Emily Speed, Dylan Swain and Callum Wardman-Browne.

Between them, this talented lot boasts a diverse range of experience, from operas such as Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande and Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, via classic choral works like Bach’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria and the Fauré Requiem, through to musical theatre favourites Sweeney Todd, Chicago, Carrie The Musical and Little Shop of Horrors. No surprise, then, that they all gave delightful performances that showcased the best of their abilities and honoured the material. I was particularly pleased to see that, despite their youth and in some cases unfamiliarity with some of the material, the company milked every bit of comedy from this showcase, which is not something that can be said of some of the professional productions I’ve seen.

I do have to single out Ben Hayes – a first-year student of Spanish and French – for his contribution as a counter-tenor. He and MD Carr made some delightful choices in weaving this unexpected but beautiful voice into the programme. I was most amused to hear him in the opening number, ‘Comedy Tonight’, finishing off the line ‘Pantaloons and tunics, courtesans and eunuchs’!

It’s always a treat hearing Sondheim arranged for two pianos, and sitting upstage right and left respectively were MD Carr and student Ziying He. The latter is currently studying Computer Science and Economics but also holds the Christina Kennedy Scholarship for piano and includes among her credits winning the Junior Category in the Bromsgrove International Musicians’ Competition, and playing the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Solihull Symphony and the Birmingham Sinfonia orchestras. Need it be said for the third time, certainly no shortage of talent!

For an encore, while Sondheim smiled down upon proceedings from a video projection, we were treated to a medley of his most popular songs from Sweeney onwards. This megamix was lovingly arranged by Carr, who’d been fortunate enough to work with Kernan earlier in his career and of course knows Sondheim’s catalogue inside and out. It was a touching moment that brought a tear to my eye, and reminded me of just how much we have to thank Sondheim for.

It’s almost a crime that this production was slated for only three performances. At the end of the evening, I wondered if this ‘amateur’ cast was fully aware of just how lucky they were to work with Carr, Schaufer and her creative dream team. Scenic design was by Isobel Nicolson, a creative associate at the Watermill Theatre; the beautiful ethereal video design was by Andrea Scott, whose most recent work was the breathtaking My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican; and lighting design was by Benny Goodman, who’s worked across Scotland lighting, among many other houses, the Tron in Glasgow, the Traverse in Edinburgh and the Dundee Rep, plus further afield to the Derby Theatre, the Arcola, the Bridewell and the Cockpit.

If anyone is looking for a bright young cast to fill their theatres this summer, get in touch with Schaufer and get this talented troupe back on the stage where they belong, before they inevitably scatter to the wind.

Craig Glenday