SPRING AWAKENING

This extraordinary work, Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play Wedekind’s first major play Frühlings Erwachen, must have caused a stir, it looks at sexuality and puberty in a strict Lutheran community of German students. The content and themes caused a scandal at the time as it contained scenes of homoeroticism, masturbation, sado-masochism, rape, suicide, and abortion. Controversial topics even today, although perhaps the bread and butter of TV drama and soaps.

In 2006 Duncan Sheik and Steven Slater took the play and created a rock musical, Spring Awakening, that started Off Broadway and has since become a highly respected work of modern musical theatre, with themes that are as poignant and relevant today as they surely were in Germany in 1891.

It’s not an easy piece in so many senses, whilst branded a rock musical, the music is far from simplistic, filled with complex rhythms and lyrics that require real musicality and skill. And the songs are very much at the heart of the narrative with each line having essential meaning and relevance.

The Apollo Company have produced the work before and to great effect and acclaim. I saw it then and was impressed by the clarity of story telling, the musical excellence and the high production values. It was directed then and again now by Katy Bower with real skill and once again she has a cast of excellent young performers who give their all to a story which must ring sharply in their present. These are themes affecting teenagers, no different today as they might have been 114 year ago, particularly in a present where so many hard fought for freedoms are being chipped away by an emerging and moralistic far right.

Spring Awakening is very much an ensemble piece with individual stories weaving around the central characters and none of this is lost in this production. And the fact that this was conceived and written as a rock musical no doubt dictates that at times, using hand held microphones, the presentation of songs dictates a “rock” performance. This I understand but I did feel at times the handling of the mics was hampering the delivery and certainly masking the emotions so well played by the performers. That though is a very personal observation and I am sure others will feel very differently.

There are some real stand out performances in this new production and forgive me for not naming all. In truth there was not a weak player on that platform nor in the excellent band for that matter, a band that drove the songs along with force when required but with appropriate gentility when that was needed.

Wendla was beautifully realised and sung by Kitty Dearlove-Richards, a fine voice and heartfelt performance. Ted Brickley gave us a charismatic Melchior, powerfully sung and totally believable as the rebel with a cause. Ciaran Pickering has perhaps the toughest role to play as the fragile and lost soul Moritz and certainly has the most difficult songs of the whole. He pulls it off with ease, a very fine performance and a deeply moving one too.

Ava Bower’s performance as Martha was very fine, packed with real dramatic skill she conveyed a heartbreaking presence as the abused daughter. And finally a word for Eloise Beck who as Ilse had the most affectingly beautiful voice of the evening.

The whole comes together so well, thunderous but precisely delivered ensemble numbers, gentle off-stage harmonies and captivatingly complex choreography performed on the simplest of settings to great effect and all beautifully lit by Joe Wailes.

Andrew Kay

28 September

The Engineerium

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