Dom Hartley-Harris and Noel Sullivan in Tiger Bay the Musical at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. Picture: Polly Thomas
Tiger Bay the Musical continues at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff until 25 November.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
An instant reaction to any show titled Tiger Bay the Musical is that it is going to tell the story of the legendary Shirley Bassey, born there 80 years ago. However, we are in much earlier times in this bold Wales Millennium Centre production, unusually launched six months ago at Cape Town Opera.
Writer Michael Williams is himself based in Cape Town, but elsewhere there is strong local involvement. West End and Broadway star John Owen-Jones leads the 38-strong cast and the hefty score by Welsh composer Daf James swings from a cappella and four-part harmony to African drumming and traditional Welsh hymn singing.
The time is the turn of the 20th century. Coal is King and Cardiff’s Tiger Bay the export centre for much of the world. It is home to a multi-ethnic community of immigrants already facing harsh intolerance well over 100 years ahead of Brexit.
Waterfront rebellion is in the air and there is a battle for survival, an yet still there is the expectation of better times to come. All these themes are packaged in a mix of effectively choreographed big numbers and two back stories that don’t always fit too comfortably with the over-arching narrative.
Owen-Jones’ presence is somewhat wasted as the Third Marquess of Bute, owner of Cardiff Docks and thought at the time to be the richest man in the world.
We learn of his mental frailty and reliance on spiritualism, but the drama is driven by the love triangle between Vikki Bebb’s gentle yet vocally powerful shop girl, Noel Sullivan’s severe Harbour Master and Dom Hartley-Harris’ troubled migrant docker.
There are also some welcome comic touches from Suzanne Packer as the matriarchal innkeeper together with a lively troupe of street urchins.
The protest songs from the down-trodden workers seem at times to have come straight off the Les Misérables production line, and the show at this stage of its life is at least 30 minutes too long.
But experienced West End director Melly Still certainly fills the huge stage with a constant swirl of movement and provides that essential of all stage musicals: a heart-warming and inspiring ending to send the audience out in buoyant mood.
This is very much a site-specific production that won a rapturous
reception from its Tiger Bay audience. Its format could possibly be adapted for other centres of industry – Sheffield (steel) or Bradford (cotton) perhaps – but as Tiger Bay the Musical it is difficult to see it playing successfully away from Cardiff.
Jeremy Brien
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.