The Lovers – REVIEW
Image: The Lovers, Bell Shakespeare. photo: Daniel Boud
The is so much to love about this musical! It’s brand new; it has all original songs; it is an Australian work and is spoken/sung with Aussie accents; the composer/writer is a woman; it interprets Shakespeare for a young audience in a language they understand; and it is f*cking awesome!
The Lovers is based on William Shakespeare’s comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream – one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays but also one with a very convoluted plot. The Lovers focuses in on just one aspect of the play: the criss-cross infatuations of four characters and the clumsy meddling of two fairies.
It is the first time Bell Shakespeare has produced a musical version of the Bard’s work, and it is also a stage debut for Laura Murphy as a writer/composer.
Murphy has an impressive resume as a performer, including playing the vitriolic Tania in the stage musical adaptation of Muriel’s Wedding. That gives her perspective and empathy that is evident in her writing.
The Lovers uses the original Shakespeare text for the spoken parts, then switches to contemporary vernacular for the pop-styled tunes. There are lots of acronyms and modern cultural references – swiping right, DTF (down to f*ck), Beyonce etc – as well knowing winks in musical flourishes and dance moves.
The music is deliberately mainstream and derivative; the lyrics, witty and cleverly crafted with perfect comic placement of the pay-off lines.
It’s an all-star cast of brilliant young performers who prove that Australia has an exciting pool of talent in this industry. Natalie Abbott is Helena, Blake Appelqvist is Demetrius, Stellar Perry is Oberon, Monique Sallé is Puck, Brittanie Shipway is Hermia and Jerrod Smith is Lysander.
If you’ve seen much musical theatre this year then you’ll recognise many of the faces. There’s a very strong sense of kinship and natural rapport on stage and that adds to the vibrancy of the show.
It’s a relatively simple set with only a few large props. Lighting goes a long way to changing the vibe, but it’s the actors and the music that really fill the stage with colour and shape.
The costumes are a combination of casual street clothes and random pieces of historical clothing. It’s all very quirky and gets more surreal as the show progresses.
This is high energy, funny, entertaining quality talent that doesn’t dumb down Shakespeare but rather is an intelligent retelling of him.
The Lovers is a show for those who like to Bard hard.
Until November 20
The Playhouse, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point
www.bellshakespeare.com.au/the-lovers
You May Also Like
