Tess of the d’Urbervilles, performed by Youth Music Theatre UK, continues at The Other Palace, London until 14 April 2018.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Youth Music Theatre UK continues its robust tradition of specially commissioned stage works inspired by literary classics, with two shows in alternation at The Other Palace to open YMT’s 2018 season.
One, Jabberwocky, takes as its basis the celebrated nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll from Through the Looking-Glass; the other, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, is a music-theatrical adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s epic story of seduction and murder, morality and injustice, tragedy and fate.
Hardy’s novel, which courted controversy in its day for its perceived impropriety, running contrary to the respectability of mainstream Victorian sensibility, certainly represents bold and challenging territory for such a young cast.
Gina Faed delivers a commendable performance in the title role, shining brightest during the most emotive scenes, such as when Tess contemplates her dashed hopes prior to the birth out of wedlock of her ill-fated child, or when she subsequently deliberates whether to reveal that chequered past to her morally upright fiancé.
Of the two men central to Tess’ heartrending tale of (to borrow her words) sins not of her own making, Will Richmond portrays the manipulative side of her predatory cousin Alec d’Urberville admirably from the outset, adopting a sinister yet not overstated demeanour.
Tess’ other suitor, Angel Clare, played by Patrick Cole, is sadly not present (or, when the character does appear, largely silent) throughout the majority of Act I and the first part of Act II, whereas Richmond’s Alec is reciprocally conspicuous by his absence from the latter, his role in the second half extending little beyond a couple of reprises.
It is indeed a pity, as well as a notable departure from the chronology of Hardy’s originating story, that Cole’s powerful characterisation of Angel is not reached sooner, given how evocatively the actor addresses some of the show’s darkest and most profound themes.
Inevitably some concessions need to be made to accommodate the breadth of sophistication of Hardy’s literary classic within a two-hour theatrical timeframe. The trio of narrators – Elena Morgan, David Mariani, and Charlie Weaver – are among the most welcome additions in this respect. Morgan’s storytelling is particularly effective in connecting the different threads of the plot and driving it forward across the passage of time.
Mention should also be made of Oliver Wheeler’s multi-layered performance as Tess’ father Jack, equally convincing as the inebriated life and soul of the local drinking establishment, would-be member of the nobility, and authoritarian patriarch of the Durbeyfield family.
Bookwriter and director Gerry Flanagan’s stated intentions to interpret Tess of the d’Urbervilles through ‘an exciting mixture of tragedy and comedy’ results in a carefully judged balance struck between the two in this production. Pippa Cleary’s comic songs prove especially valuable in setting into relief its more intense plotlines.
Hence Tess’ ostracisation by polite society is depicted as a vaudevillian number in which clergy and parishioners denounce her and urge her to repent. The ‘Chicken Charleston’, performed by six singer-dancers ably led by Oliver Furze, is another showstopper, and one of several points at which Alicia Frost’s choreography specifically stands out.
The strong folk influences of many of Cleary’s other songs capture perfectly the rural setting of 19th century Wessex, Simon Nathan’s orchestrations being charmingly rendered by the dozen instrumentalists of the pit band under the musical direction of Cillian Donaghy.
If I were permitted one final observation, it would be that the score’s vocal lines do not always seem as well suited to the ranges of individual performers as in past YMT productions, with a number of cast members both male and female straining for notes at the extremities of their registers – not ideal at such a critical stage in the development of talented young singers’ voices.
That aside, Youth Music Theatre UK’s production of Tess of the d’Urbervilles constitutes an impressive start to the season, extending its already well-established legacy of injecting fresh perspectives into long-established classics and inspiring new generations of artists and audiences in the year of its 15th anniversary.
Christopher Wiley
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