Judi Herman revels in the perfect show for a return to live theatre
One of my first forays back into live theatreland – having run the gauntlet of heat, crowds and delays on the tube – and it was a relief to find myself in the intimate air-conditioned Charing Cross Theatre.
And what a joy to be whirled back in time, though not to the Middle Ages of the real-life Pippin, son of warlike Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. Rather, as I entered a theatre-space festooned with brilliantly colourful hangings and floored with the wares of exotic Eastern carpet markets (as imagined by designer David Shields), I was on a psychedelic trip to the late 1960s, at the height of the Summer of Love.
Inspired by composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who originally wrote Pippin for a 1960s university project, director Steven Dexter has reimagined Pippin as a small-scale 60s-set musical with a cast of eight talented triple threats (they sing, they act and boy do they dance up a storm thanks to choreographer Nick Winston), each of whom morphs effortlessly into the individual character they play as the story demands. Clad in colourful costumes, with charismatic Leading Player Ian Carlyle at their head, they burst onto the traverse stage to play to a rapt audience seated on both sides of the action.
Just two awe-inspiring musicians, MD Chris Ma on electric keyboards and Sam Ainslie on guitar, fill the theatre with their soundscape (sound designer Keegan Curran).
The story has dreamer Prince Pippin (appealing Ryan Anderson) trying to find his niche at the court of his father Charles (Daniel Krikler, by turns commanding and exasperated as he fights to keep hold of his crown – actually a brilliantly simple wooden tambourine), despite the machinations of his scheming stepmother Fastrada (malevolently Machiavellian Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson) to oust the young heir in favour of her stolid son Lewis (action-clad Alex James-Hatton).
One of my favourite scenes in the show is the audience singalong. For when the violent reality check of the horrors of war proves too much for Pippin, he takes refuge in the countryside with his exiled grandmamma Berthe, who gets him to lighten up and live a little in the wondrous ‘No Time at All’. In best pantomime tradition, it features a song sheet dropping from the ceiling. It was a special thrill for me as Charing Cross Theatre was the home of the venerable Players’ Theatre Music Hall, where singing along with the artistes was a must in pre-pandemic times. It was a real joy to be part of an audience up for lustily joining Genevieve Nicole’s Berthe singing “Oh, it’s time to start living”, despite being masked. Like her co-stars, Nicole slips easily into character simply by slipping on specs and a shawl and slowing down to a granny’s gait.
To find out how Pippin gets to be king and how impossibly hard a job it is, how he finds solace in the arms of young widow Catherine (convincing Natalie McQueen) and in loco parentis to her young son Theo (Jaydon Vijn having fun acting down); to watch in horror as the incendiary finale unfolds, you'll have to see Pippin for yourself. It will be a joyous return to live theatre that you will revel in sharing with this supremely talented company.
By Judi Herman
Photos by Edward Johnson
Pippin runs until Sunday 5 September. 7.30pm, 3pm (Wed, Sat & Sun only). £25-£50. Charing Cross Theatre, WC2N 6NL. www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk