Fiddler on the Roof at The Playhouse Theatre | Review


Andy Nyman (Tevye), credit Johan Persson.
Andy Nyman (Tevye), credit Johan Persson.
The Book of Exodus says that after crossing the Red Sea, Moses led the Hebrews into the Sinai, where they spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness. Fortunately for the inhabitants of a small Russian village at the turn of the last century, all they had to do was move across the river as they took the highly successful Menier Chocolate Factory production of Fiddler on the Roof across the Thames to the Playhouse Theatre.
The story centres around Tevye (Andy Nyman) a poor Jewish milkman, his wife Golde (Judy Kuhn) and their five daughters, Tzeitel (Molly Osborne), Hodel (Harriet Bunton), Chava (Nicola Brown), Shprintze (Elena Cervesi/Lia Cohen/Shoshana Ezequiel/Valentina Theodoulo) and finally Beilke (Sofia Bennett/Lottie Casserley/Talia Etherington/Isabella Foat). Like all of the Jewish inhabitants of Anatevka, the family lives an uneasy life by the side of the Christian Russians who are the dominant people in the village. Still, everyone is surviving and Tevye puts this survival down to one thing – Tradition. The Jewish population’s every action is dictated by the traditions of their race. So, for example, marriages are arranged by Yente, the Matchmaker (Louise Gold). And has she got a match for Tevye’s eldest daughter, Tzeitel? The rich, widowed and elderly village butcher Lazar Wolf (Dermot Canavan) has decided to take a new wife and the nineteen-year-old Tzeitel has taken his eye. Yente and Golde are overjoyed about the match. And if Tzeitel has her heart set on marrying someone else, maybe the poor tailor Motel Kamzoil (Joshua Gannon), well she will get over it. As Tevye says, Tradition is the most important thing. But outside in the world, things, people and ideas are changing. Anatevka’s inhabitants feel the first rumblings of this change with the arrival of a radical student from Kiev by the name of Perchik (Stewart Clarke). As change forces itself in, can Tevye, his friends and family resist or will their traditions and concept of life be swept aside causing him to question everything he has ever held dear?
If you read my first review for Fiddler then you will know I absolutely loved the show at the Menier. I’m thrilled to confirm that the trip across the river has done nothing to change my feelings. This an absolutely first-rate show with an amazing cast led by the wonderful Andy Nyman in the role of Tevye.
Nyman’s performance is perfect in every way. From the moment he arrived on an empty stage, sat on a milk churn and started the introduction, you knew this was going to be a fantastic performance. There are so many highlights to Nyman’s portrayal of Tevye. My favourites are his talks with God. The relationship is like a man with his father or a trusted male friend. You can have a moan but remember to stay respectful. For example “I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can’t You choose someone else?” or “Sometimes I wonder, when it gets too quiet up there if You are thinking, ‘What kind of mischief can I play on My friend Tevye?’” Then there are the moments with Golde. Nyman and Judy Kuhn have that wonderful chemistry on stage where you could imagine that they have been together for 25 years – in some ways, the bickering and little loving arguments remind me of my own parents – and this is really brought out during their duet ‘Do You Love Me?’ in the Second Act.
Backing up these two are excellent performances from the rest of the highly talented and convincing cast. Who, under Director Trevor Nunn and Choreographer Matthew Cole bring the town and its people to life in fine style. Favourite moments of the show for me have to be the opening which starts with fiddler Darius Luke Thompson atop Robert Jones village set playing his violin. The second is the famous bottle dance in the wedding scene which, having seen it twice now, still amazes me with the skill and grace of the dancers. To be honest I could sit and write pages of my top bits of the show but I would end up writing out the whole thing as there were no points where it felt flat or my attention wandered and I was spellbound from the opening to the highly emotional and poignant ending.
Fiddler on the Roof is so wrong as a musical. There is a lot of misery and no happy endings but, there is a joy of life and living that makes it one of the best shows you are ever likely to see and as on a strictly limited run you would be mad to miss your chance, so stop reading and get your tickets now.
5 Star Rating
Review by Terry Eastham for London Theatre 1

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Lesson From Aloes at the Finborough Theatre | Review

Hello Dolly by Blackburn Musical Theatre Company - Review

Top 10 of 2017