Swan Song
Adapted from Anton Chekhov and composed by Zara Harris
Orchestrated by Matthew Stanley
Directed by Abbie Freeman
Star rating 4
It is always cheering to see engaging new work created and performed by people at the very start of their careers, especially when it’s done well. And this take on a Chekhov short story about an old actor retiring, dying and regretting his past, is done with imaginative flair by seven accomplished young performers.
It began life in Leeds, the work of recent University of Leeds graduates. Now it makes its London debut in Penge and it was good to see the Bridge House Theatre almost full for the performance I saw.
It’s rare to get live music in a small show like this but, with some recorded backing we get two actor musos (Gigi Downey on reeds and Isaiah James-Mitchell on cello) along with Matthew Stanley on keyboard which certainly enhances the atmosphere especially when the instruments are integrated with the choral singing. The part-singing is both ambitious and pretty strong. It’s far from easy when you’ve got five singers each holding a different line, without being able to see each other or an MD. It almost always comes off and stays in tune and together. It’s a sung through piece which is presented as musical theatre but could just as easily be called opera.
Stevie Catney is outstanding as Vasili Sveitlovidoff, the elderly actor. The character is ill and unhappy and for long periods Catney has to watch his younger self (Sacha Smith – good) in wonder and regret, like Scrooge with the Ghost of Christmas Past. Catney excels at concentratedly conveying his feelings of anguish silently with facial expression and body language.
There’s some fine ensemble work in this show too, At the start the cast becomes voices in Sveitlovidoff’s head and it’s slickly done. Moreover there’s a very arresting episode when he finally reveals his talent as an actor by dropping into Lear’s Blow winds and crack your cheeks surrounded by the cast who provide extraordinary, sinister, animalistic sound effects beneath him to represent the weather and other hostile forces. It’s both startlingly original and seriously disquieting.
There is a lot of talent among these seven actors. All the women sing well, James-Mitchell has an unusually wide vocal range and Savannah Perry delights as Sveitlovidoff’s regretted love. I look forward to hearing more of these young performers and of the trio who created this pleasing show.
