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Review by Peter Kennedy (published
in Summer 2004 edition of Wivenhoe News)
Can
the leopard change its spots? No. Can the Wivenhoe G&S
Society put on something not by Gilbert and Sullivan? A
resounding Yes.
The
day after the last performance of Sorcerer, the cast and the production team, having cleared up the
post-show party, dismantled the scenery and took a well-earned
rest. Over
sandwiches and sausage rolls a good old natter raised the
question: where do we go from here? And the answer: somewhere
new, somewhere different.
The
decision that Fiddler on
the Roof would be the next production was not without
either its complexities or its opponents.
Fiddler,
however, it was going to be, directed by Mary Williamson with
musical direction by Hilary Brunning. Rehearsals started early
in September, and indeed a significant number of new faces and
new voices came to join the Society and to take part.
Fiddler
on the Roof is
extraordinary; based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem it is a
musical made from the Russian pogroms of a hundred years ago
when Jews were hounded out of their shtetls to become caught
up in a new diaspora. Staging
such a show requires a careful touch, and the musical numbers
- often plaintive minor key melodies or pieces needing
impeccable timing - are very different from Sullivan's style.
It must have taken some courage for the Society to
change direction and go along such a different road.
This time several small speaking parts were required in
addition to the major roles.
The casting was in fact superb and the whole production
reflected great credit on directors and performers alike.
Come
the performance, this reviewer was held spellbound.
As the anticipatory buzz of the audience died away ,
the keening notes of James Rosekilly’s violin signalled the
entrance of Tevye the dairyman, onto a set made so
convincingly real by Jo Hunter’s wonderful scenery painting
of the little Ukrainian village.
With John Walton’s light touch on the piano providing
melodic background, the villagers arrived and set the pace
with a lusty “Tradition” which received the crispest of
timing. “Matchmaker”
(playing with matches a girl can get burned) was a lovely trio
of Sara Rout (Tzeitel), and Gwenllian South and Zoe Summers as
her sisters Hodel and Chava.
There
was a lot of dialogue in this musical play, handled well by
all the performers. Martin
Sparks as Tevye was, of course, the pivotal character of Fiddler, and his characterisation was nothing short of brilliant;
his monologues were nicely judged, and he had a deft touch
with the intricacies of “If I Were a Rich Man”.
Tim
Glover (Perchik) was a convincingly radical student with a
pleasant light baritone and a fond eye for Hodel.
The Rabbi (Robin Durance “with a congregation of
one”), was a comic but also truly human figure; and the
Sabbath Prayer was really moving, Tevye’s voice soaring
above with an insistent “amen”.
There was a great moment of crosstalk between Tevye and
Lazer Wolf the butcher (Peter Bather), the chorus froze into a
trademark Mary Williamson tableau, and then came a rumbustious
“Lechaim” from the men whose drunken choreography
culminated in all fall down.
Cuddly Golde, Tevye’s wife (Pip Bradstock) scolded
her husband, and two charming children listened wide-eyed to
Perchik’s left-leaning bible stories; his revolutionary
ideas encompassed by “everything is changing except here”.
Alan van Loen fitted the character of the wheedling
tailor Motel like a glove – well, like a good suit – then
came Tevye’s dream, with ghostly Grandma Tzeitel (Clare
Durance) followed by the terrifying ghost of the butcher’s
wife Fruma-Sarah, brought to furious life by Lyn Button. Wonderful stuff.
Enter
Fyedka (Steve Fisher) a modest man too nice to be a Russian
soldier, who brings new complications to Tevye’s life when
he captures the heart of Chava.
Not to forget the naked emotion of
“Sunrise, Sunset” (laden with happiness and tears):
pure schmaltz, beautifully sung.
And the dance of the vodka bottles, a great performance
by Tim Glover, Glyn Stanway as Mordcha the innkeeper and
Malcolm Burren as Avrahm the bookseller.
Goodness
me, I’m only halfway through, so I’ll just say that I was
struck by the jawdropping realism of Jo Hunter’s and Peter
Cook’s sets, by Annie Bielecka's and Martin Jezierski's
lovely costume designs, by Martin Sparks’ convincing stage
presence, by Tim Glover’s burning revolutionary zeal, by
Lynda Edwardson’s commanding Yente the Matchmaker, by
Gwenllian South’s pretty voice, and by the music itself
which was not always easy but which was handled so well.
The final scene managed to be one of ineffable sadness
as the long line of villagers made their way away from their
beloved village of Anatevka, to the faltering strains of the
fiddler on the roof.
A brave
break with tradition, it was a thoroughly good show.
Peter Kennedy
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