The
Water Babies
Music & Lyrics by
Chichester Festival Theatre
Reviewed by Emma Shane
© Summer 2003
Witnessing a production of a brand new musical can be quite an
experience for an audience, wondering, are we witnessing history in the making?
In the case of this show, I think there is a good chance we might well be. The Water-Babies, by Charles Kingsley
is a classic story, so to turn it into a good musical requires something more
than plain adaptation. Apparently what songwriter
This is one of
those occasions where I think it is fair to say, that mere words cannot really
do justice to the show, for one really needs to witness it for oneself, but I
hope that if you are not able to see it, this description may provide a flavour
historical account of a small piece of musical theatre history in the making,
and if you are lucky enough to see it, it will help you remember the details of
it.
The show opens with the Prologue music and the story’s
other two major characters, Chimney Sweep Thomas Grimes and his ill-treated
climbing boy Tom, whom he got from the workhouse (one might note a passing
similarity to the story of Oliver Twist here - well both were
workhouse boys sold into trade, and both are dressed in Victorian rags). Tom,
played by Neil McDermott is alone on the stage, Grimes is calling for
him. The stage is full of boxes and such like, covered in drapes. Soon Joe McGann, as Grimes, strides down the middle stage-left
aisle, dressed as a Victorian tradesman, with a brush over his shoulder, and in
song, Take That! continues to berate and punish Tom for running on ahead.
Gazing down at the clean water, Tom wishes he was clean too, though that does
not stop him from mis-treating a dragonfly. Suddenly
our eyes are alerted to stage-right, where one of the drapes is thrown up and a
large female figure crawls out from underneath it. (In fact a close look at the
set when the stage lights went up, show that just at this position there is a
hump in the drapes that might be that person’s head - so presumably she’s been
sitting there all along). To anyone who even vaguely remembers the story it is
at once obvious who she is, the Irishwoman, but in fact, such is our Leading
Lady’s command of the stage, I’m sure anyone who didn’t remember would have
realised this is our Leading Lady. She is wearing a raggedly dress with quite a
full skirt, and a hooded cloak, so we can’t see her hair at all, but we can see
her face, and from under the hood, a pair of sparkling brown eyes stare out,
when she speaks it is in a near-perfect Irish accent. One of Louise Gold’s
many gifts is a marvellous ability for accents. She tells Grimes and Tom “Those
that wish to be clean, clean they will be; those that wish to be foul, foul
they will be.” And then, after informing Tom that they will meet again
soon, gathers up her skirts and runs of stage (revealing the fact that on her
feet she is wearing black flat-heeled, possibly gym shoes or jazz, shoes).
Grimes and Tom continue on their way to Harthover
Hall, where Grimes wants Tom to steal the master’s late wife’s pearls.
The scene now alters (by means of removing some of the drapes) to Harthover Hall, where: the servants are rushing around
madly trying to get everything ready, because Miss Ellie, the master’s invalid
daughter is coming home from Switzerland, What A Day. Just to
complicate matters the cook is trying to complain she hasn’t got enough
ingredients, and (a phrase repeated several times) “The sweep’s at the
gates”. There are good ensemble performances from Natasha Bain
as the cook, Trevor Conner and Adam Tedder
as George and Garth the footmen and Paul Leonard as Maurice the butler.
Two of the most noticeable performances in this scene come from Alicia
Davies as Mary Jane the maid and Nicola Sloane as Mrs Drew the
Housekeeper. Both ladies are quite distinctive individual actresses (who stood
out in The Gondoliers). Miss Ellie, played by Katherine O’Shea,
is wheeled on in her wheelchair, and complemented on looking better,
she in turn complements the Swiss Doctors. Meanwhile Miss Dennis, the
governess, played by Fiona Dunn (whom I didn’t recognise although she
was a principle in The Gondoliers) calls for some help with the
luggage. Having been welcomed home, Miss Ellie is then taken to her room and bed, we learn that like her late mother she has TB. Much of
this scene has been sung through, with the number What A
Day, interspersed with a little dialogue, like an operetta. But in the
next scene we get a more song-like song.
Grimes and Tom set
to work, and Tom climbs up the chimney, this part is symbolized by having him
climb up a large step-ladder that is on the stage. Suddenly another figure
makes her presence noticed, in the chimneys with Tom, it’s the Irishwoman! At
one point she actually stands on the stepladder too. This time she sings, Down
By The Sea, and her big glorious voices rolls
out delightfully, much like a good wine (such as W S Gilbert’s beloved
full-bodied burgundy would roll down). The song is a very pleasant one,
Tom is just as
bewitched by her singing, as the audience is, and soon he finds himself falling
down one of the flues and finds himself in Ellie’s bedroom. Ellie, by this
time, is asleep in bed. Tom wanders round the room, I wonder Where I Am. He is surprised at the soft clean
material, and even more by Ellie’s washing kit, how could a girl like her get
dirty enough to need so much washing. He expresses his bewilderment very nicely
in song. He tries to wash off some of his soot, but to no avail, and
unfortunately Ellie awakens and screams with fright. This of course summons
Miss Dennis, and soon there is quite a commotion going on. A doctor must be
sent for, as Ellie has started haemorrhaging, and they must catch that boy,
surely a thief. Tom meanwhile is running for his life, towards the river, with
Grimes in hot pursuit, I’ll Never Be Clean. Grimes is convinced Tom has got the pearls, which he hasn’t, and
won’t hand them over. They part sing, part speak their argument over the river,
and eventually both fall in and drown. Meanwhile it’s too late for Ellie, she
is dying, but with her dying breath she says the boy is not a thief.
The action now goes Under The Water.
Naturally it would be impossible to really be underwater, so this is done
symbolically, with the help of a few water-coloured balloons. Tom’s costume
changes too, he is now strangely clad in long blue shorts, and a blue top, and
is quite bewildered with his new surroundings, apparently he is now a Water
Baby, although he doesn’t believe it, and doesn’t know what that is anyway. And
now it is time to meet a strange variety of creatures who
live under the water. First up a snail, played by Christian
Patterson. He is peddling on a small tricycle, and carrying a black
rubbish sack on his back, the tail of his costume is a semi-transparent trail.
Next hobbling along with a stick comes a nervous
Caddis Larva, played by Steven Fawell. It
turns out that his nerves have a lot to do with a frog, played by Steve
Elias who ate his brothers and sisters as soon as they split to turn into
Caddis Fly, Catching Flies. Presently the Caddis Larvae splits
into a Caddis Fly, Prince Of Flies - a
role which finds Steven Fawell parading around
clad in swimming trunks and a lot of glitter. A little later he adds a sort of
jacket of wings to his costume. We also meet two rather beautiful looking
ladies, a Trout played by Natasha Bain, who keeps being annoyed by being
called an old trout, and a Yellow Eel played by Fiona Dunn, and finally
we meet another, quite commanding lady, Catching Fish, an otter,
played by Sasha Oakley. The songs for
all these underwater beings are quite excellently conceived, and performed by
their individual performers with conviction. All of them find Tom rather rude, most unlike a Water Baby, for Water Babies are always
polite and helpful. They keep trying to tell him that Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid
is watching or listening and won’t like it.
Presently, however,
trouble breaks out, the Otter, decides she wants to eat one of the fish. What
is to be done? the cry goes up “Send for the Water
Babies!” From the far left and far right corners of the stage they come, scootering along. Yes all are riding those scooters that
were all the rage on the streets a few years ago. Possibly the best scooterer, or at least one of the most distinctive on her
scooter, is Izzy played by Nicola Sloane. All
the Water Babies have names, they are: Freddie, Laura, Poppy, Camila, Gryff, Johnny, Daisy,
Charlie, Bertie, Izzy and
Tim, and are played by: Trevor Conner, Deborah Crowe, Alicia
Davies, Fiona Dunn, Steve Elias, Kieran Hill, Jo
Nesbitt, Benedict Quirke, Joe Shovelton,
Nicola Sloane, and, Adam Tedder
respectively. One of them, probably Fiona Dunn’s Camila,
wears a whistle and a little red notebook on a ribbon around her neck, and
therefore seems to lead the others, a bit like a scout master. Thwarted in her
desires, the otter goes into a sulk. Meanwhile The Water Babies, proceed to
greet their new member, Tom, You’re A Water Baby Now. Tom is soon
wearing a tail and cap just like them. He also receives his own scooter (this
is dropped down on a wire from the roof), and Neil McDermott promptly
scoots around the stage on it. Tom begins to realise that is might be quite
nice to be one of them. He is rather less keen to discover that being a Water
Baby involves a certain amount of schooling. They sing about how their mission
is to maintain A Balancing Act in nature. This is probably
one of the catchiest songs in the entire show. The Water Babies sing it well as
an ensemble piece, though two individuals do stand out (for their dancing and
general stage presonce) namely Izzy
and Poppy. Just as Tom is beginning to come round to their ideals, and help
them untangle some weeds, their current task in hand, who should appear to
complicate things, but a Lobster, played by Paul Leonard. His right hand ends in a
clue-like glove, which opens and shuts a bit like the mouth of a puppet might.
He is very capitalist kind of creature, who seems to think everyone has to look
out for themselves, because no one else will do it for them, Help Yourself.
He soon gets his comeuppance, by getting stuck in a lobster pot. Two of the
Water Babies try to help in, but unfortunately Tom, rather carried away with
the lobster’s rhetoric, shuts them in. The Water Babies,
try to warn him that Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid won’t like
it. To which Tom retorts that “she should keep her trap shut”, and just
before he said that (though Tom does not notice until afterwards), who should
enter but Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid, the ugliest fairy in
the world, herself. This time our leading lady sweeps onto the stage in the
magnificent manner one might expect from a Leading Lady. Louise Gold is
wearing a long dress with a very full skirt, that
sweeps so far down to the ground, one can never see her shoes (the way she
moves in this costume adds to that effect). She is wearing a ginger-red wig, of
hair rather more gingery than her own chestnut locks. Her wig is made all the
more remarkable, by it coming up into a long pointed tail (like a unicorn’s
horn) a foot or two above her head. The whole “ugly” effect is topped off by
hiding her sparkling brown eyes behind a pair of lorgnettes. All in all she
looks very severe and dignified. She does not have a wand, but instead, with a
simple flick of her hand, usually her powerful left, she makes magic: sticking
Tom to the rock on which he is standing, and depriving him of speech. She uses
much the same effect to reverse these devices. It’s very effective and
extremely appropriate given the actress playing her, that her magical powers
are in her hands like that, Louise Gold after all does have rather
clever hands. Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid is carrying a
large red book. As she explains There’s Always A
Choice, the book contains, for each ‘person’ a series of ticks and
crosses. A tick is for every time they do something right, and a cross every
time they do something wrong. Each time they earn a tick it cancels out a
cross. There’s Always A Choice is a fine
song, and really quite funny. The lyrics are brilliant, and thankfully have
both a tune and arrangement that brings them out very clearly. It’s the sort of
piece that in some Music Theatre shows, such as Gilbert And
Sullivan, might have been done as a patter song. But thankfully this is not
actually a patter song, it is just as simple, clever
and witty, but without the fast tempo. Which is just as well,
because it makes it much better suited to Louise Gold’s abilities.
At first Tom
objects to all the crosses he has, saying they are not his fault, but
gradually, he begins to understand. The Lobster also begins to understand and
even apologies for rejecting a proffered had, which mitigates one of his
crosses. Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid even admits it is quite
reasonable of anyone to want to say she is the ugliest fairy in the world, and
ugly she will remain, until ‘people’ learn to behave, then she will
become as beautiful as her sister Mrs Doasyououldbedoneby.
Just as Tom is beginning to understand, and settle down with the other Water
Babies. Another diversion arrives, in the form of Ellie, now wearing a simple
blue dress. Ellie is bearing a message saying that Tom’s presence is required
at The Other End Of Nowhere, where someone needs his
help. Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid, informs Tom that he must set off at once, it is a journey
that all Water Babies must make eventually, when their time comes. She also
says that Ellie may accompany him most of the way “as far as the Kitchen
Door” (at this point we, the audience, don’t know what on earth she means
by that). Tom is aghast at leaving his new friends. But Mrs Bedonebyeasyoudid,
kindly says, or rather she and the Water Babies sing (in a style reminiscent of
G&S), the first verse of The Other End Of Nowhere
that there is no injunction that she’s aware of why they should not
accompany him on the first part of his journey, as far as they are able. Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid,
slips a grey satchel (conveniently dropped from the roof the first time I saw
this, though in a subsequent performance Louise fetched it from elsewhere on
the stage) and a medallion around Ellie, and with Ellie leading the way,
closely followed by Tom, all the Water Babies set off up the central left aisle
of the stage. As they go they sing the
main part of the song The Other End Of Nowhere, which has now
become a patter song, almost the only time a patter song was used in the entire
production (and it’s noticeable that it’s been carefully constructed such that
our leading lady’s involvement isn’t needed in the singing of it, although
she’s still around on the stage).
It is really
apparent throughout the whole of this underwater scene, that
Act 2 opens on dry land, with a Funeral Quartet. It is Grimes’s funeral. The only people in attendance are A
Vicar, played by Kieran Hall, Mother Grimes excellently played by the
redoubtable Nicola Sloane, and Gilbert ‘Grimes’s
old master played by Paul Leonard, along with Gilbert’s son and the
pallbearers. Mother Grimes is sad about her son, but admits he was a bad lot,
and quite stoical about seeing herself home. From auditorium Door 1 (which is by
the audience right, stage left, centre gangway) enters a familiar figure, the
Irishwoman, with her skirts gathered round her, she scampers up the steps onto
the stage. Raising one of her powerful clever hands (her right on this
occasion) she whips up a storm. Suddenly Grimes’s
soul rises from the ground, he is rather surprised to
see the Irishwoman again. Grimes doesn’t realise yet that he’s dead, and tries
to join in the conversation with his mother and the vicar. “They can’t hear
you” laughs the Irishwoman playfully, and scampers off (through a door near
stage left). Grimes is still trying to talk to his
mother and the vicar, while the exit, in song. This non-communicative duet is
positively Sondheim in style, and it continues with the entrance of the
next character from the back of the stage, behind some scenery, Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid. Picking up the song, she informs Grimes
that he is dead and must answer for his deeds. With that she begins to read out
in song about his case from her red book, Be Done By As
You Did. However, Grimes doesn’t believe in life-after-death and
exasperates her, so much that she begins to inflict various punishments on him
(of the type he used to inflict on both his mother and Tom). She does this with
magic, by means of some deft subtle flicks of that clever left hand of hers.
Our eyes were drawn to focus on her hand, perhaps a legacy of her puppeteering skills. Eventually Grimes angers the ugly
fairy so much that with the movement of her left arm, she sends him to The
Other End Of Nowhere, The Storm.
The storm seems to
be getting worse, up on a balcony in the middle of the
back of the stage (the orchestra were on a much larger balcony at the very back
of the stage) Mother Grimes appears, with a lantern and sings Children In
The Storm. Presently down on the stage floor, Ellie and Tom appear.
Soon The Irish Woman enters stage right, also with a lantern, and from far
stage right The Water Babies also with lanterns come on stage join in. The
Water Babies carry their lanterns on poles in both hands in a uniform manner.
Katherine and Nicola have their lanterns in their right hands, and Louise of
course has hers in her left. Up until
The Irish Woman’s appearance, Nicola Sloane had carried the song along
very well, but once Louise Gold entered, our attention was drawn away
from Nicola to become fairly firmly fixed on our leading lady, such is the
magnetism of her personality, though the audience still managed to pay Nicola
some attention, especially as Louise departed towards the end of the prayer.
The Storm,
continues, and now we actually meet some of the children who are caught in it,
Tom, Ellie, and the Water Babies. Looking at her map, Ellie tells us that the
storm has blown them off-course, they were going down,
they are now going up, the best course of action will be for them to head
North, but the Water Babies can’t go further North, it’s too cold for them,
only Ice Babies can survive there. So they head back for home, but promise to
look out for Tom when it’s their turn to go to The Other End Of
Nowhere. Tom and Ellie carry on alone on the ice. Ellie doesn’t feel the cold,
and can’t understand why Tom does, seeing as they are both dead. She tries to
cheer him up by telling him about Paradise Gardens, where it’s
warm and sunny, and one day they will walk there together, but Tom says Gardens
like that are not for the likes of him, and sits down getting colder. Ellie
carries a pointed stick with which she taps the ground, trying to find a portal
that will lead them to The Other End Of Nowhere,
but they seem to be lost, and as she says “there’s no one to ask”.
As if in answer to
her prayers from the back of the stage a tall figure enters, wearing a white
fur cape and a blond wig. At first Ellie does not notice her, and when she
does, she is surprised to see her, it is Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby, the most beautiful fairy in the
world, with whom she has walked in The Paradise Gardens. Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby explains that she often strays over
this way, to dispense love. Ellie introduces her to Tom. Mrs Doasyouwouldbydoneby promptly drops
down to touch his cheek, and realises he’s freezing cold. Hastily she slips off
her cloak, and wraps it around him, as she does so she calls out quite loudly “Ice
Babies! gather round, we’ve an emergency” . She is
now wearing a pink ballgown, with a fairly large
skirt, and plain white high heeled shoes. (which make
this 5ft9” leading lady even taller than she already is). The Ice-Babies soon
come running on, they are all clad like Eskimos in
which fur hooded jackets and white trousers. One of them is wearing round his
neck a keg of Brandy, and enquires if it’s needed. But Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby
says no, all Tom “needs is love and affection in abundance”. She kneels
down on the stage beside him and proceeds to cuddle him. “Mum” mutters
the rather befuddled Tom. Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby
finds it rather sweet he thinks she’s his mother, whom he never knew. Finally
waking up a little Tom realises what he’s said, and changes it to “M’am”, but Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby
likes being called Mum. She launches into song, A Little Love.
This is a lovely song. It has gorgeous lyrics and a tune and orchestration
which does them full justice. It is one of the few songs in the show which I
think truly has the potential to have quite a life outside of the show, for
example on solo albums and in cabaret acts (and I can think of one cabaret show
where that song might fit in very nicely). Yes it’s a great fun and fine song,
rather like Cole Porter in style. But what really makes it memorable is
having it sung by such a lovely artiste as Louise Gold (who incidentally
is also a dab hand at singing Cole Porter). Although Louise Gold
always sings every song she sings as though she means it, just occasionally she
gets hold of a song that is so her she actually becomes the song, or it becomes
her, and I have rarely seen that occur quite so
absolutely as it does here. Both in terms of style and message this song fits Louise
Gold so well it could have been written just for her, and who knows, as
this is a new show....?
While singing,
Louise also dances a bit, giving us just the merest hint of her wonderful
dancing skills (surely a legacy of her Arts Educational training). Most
notably she spins round (rather like in the film The Pirates Of Penzance) so much so that it’s a wonder she
didn’t get dizzy! She is not the only person singing, for some verse and of
course refrains are handled by Tom, Ellie, and a chorus of Ice-Babies (namely: Steve Elias, Steven Fawell, Trevor Conner, Kieran Hill, Deborah
Crowe, Jo Nesbitt, Natasha Bain, and, Fiona Dunn). Tom’s a bit warmer now, so
doesn’t need the cloak, which the Ice Babies now spread over a useful box in
the centre of the stage, Tom and Ellie both clamber up onto it, and presently,
using the shoulder’s of two of the Ice Babies as a springboard, our leading
lady jumps up backwards to join them (she remains facing the audience all the
time). And of course she gives the two children a few loving hugs. Some critics
have likened her appearance in this scene to a cross between Marilyn Monroe
and Celia Johnson, but I would say that with her big powerful voice she
is rather more comparable to Dolores Gray, if indeed she can be compared
to anyone; as ultimately Louise Gold is so unique she can’t really be compared
to anyone else, and this terrific number gives her a great opportunity to
demonstrate that. However, all good things must come to an end sooner of later,
and warmed up, it’s time for Tom to continue on his journey. Ironically it is
Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby who breaks to bad news to
Tom that the person he has to help is his old master Grimes. Tom is appalled, Not
This; Grimes who treated him so badly. Why should Grimes be given a
chance to walk in the paradise gardens? But gradually if out of a sense of a
Water Baby’s duty if nothing else, Tom agrees to carry on, for only he can help
Grimes, even though his heart is not in it.
It’s time for another change of scene (the removal of most of the
drapes). The Other End Of Nowhere, is a large kitchen,
where the tormented souls of the wicked are cooked, by three cooks played by Steve
Elias, Joe Shovelton and Christan Patterson, assisted by the
tormentors, Stew In Your Own Juice. Lyrically this song is
extraordinarily daring (for a musical aimed at children), although in his role
as orchestrator, the lyricist has managed to hide his
clever lyrics under one of his weirder arrangements, which may be to their
advantage, as it means presumably that parents and censors might not notice
them. The cooks are dressed like in a pantomime, except their costumes are
rather blood-spattered. The tormented souls, with the exception of Grimes (in
his customary Victorian garb) are wrapped in white bandages,
the tormentors wear white cat-suits, and run around with toast forks and such
like. The whole scene is quite grotesque, as the cooks cut off bits of the
tormented souls and such like. Certainly this is one scene that is a bit
controversial. However, I felt there was one saving grace midway through the
scene, namely the surprise appearance of the Head Cook, who is none other than
the Irishwoman! Her performance in this scene really adds something to the
development of her character, and for that reason particularly I think the
scene should be retained, although given how much it’s been criticised, perhaps
it could be a little toned down). Another reason I think the scene should be
retained is for its very funny (when you can actually hear them) lyrics. One of
the chimneys appears to be blocked, they need a sweep, Tom remarks that he was
a climbing boy, so the Irishwoman sends him up the chimney, and with a playful
cry of “Carry on cookin’” departs.
A quick bit of
scene changing, and Tom is up on the roof, where Grimes is stuck in a large
Chimney. This is perhaps one of Joe McGann’s most powerful scenes in the
show. He has seen that he was wrong, and singing A Better Place
begs Tom’s forgiveness. Tom is reluctant at first, but as Grimes points out “If
you were in my position you’d want to be forgiven too.” So Tom forgives
Grimes, and the Chimney he is stuck in breaks apart (nice effect). Then who should enter (the first time I saw
it, from Auditorium Door 1, though the second time from near stage left) but
Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby, now wearing a simple 1950’s
style frock, a close fitting dress that hugs her trim figure, and ends at her
knees showing off the calves of her fine legs. She is still wearing her white
stilettos. All in all she looks very much like she’s stepped out of a
traditional musical comedy. Tom and Grimes can now walk in The Paradise
Gardens, where Ellie is waiting for Tom, and Mother Grimes, who died an hour
ago, is waiting for her son, so Grimes timed his redemption to
perfection. All good creatures may walk in The
Paradise Gardens.
A bit more scene
changing, with the help of the cast, in particular Trevor Conner and Adam Tedder as the footmen, a carpet of grass is rolled out and
a few shrubs placed about, for Tom and Grimes to be reunited with Ellie and
Mother Grimes. Tom is now dressed in a white suit, he
is no longer a Water Baby, but some kind of angel. Then a door at the back of
stage opens, and the four walk through into a white light. Alone on the stage
(the other members of the company have all departed) it is Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby who sings a reprise (with lyrics so
different I didn’t even recognise it as the same tune) of A Little Love,
and then delivers the show’s moral “Do as you would be done by, and you will
be done by as you did” and then, switching almost into a familiar teasing
voice (shades of a classy sounding English Muppet or perhaps Spitting
Image’s Queen) reminds us that this is a fairy tale, and therefore
we’re not meant to believe it “even if it is true”. And with that,
having had the last word, the leading lady bends her knees in a pose, the stage
lights dim and the story comes to an end.
There are several occasions when I have written show reviews, where I’ve
chosen to focus my review one or other of the supporting players, rather than
the real star of the show, this is not one of those occasions, as the curtain
calls made abundantly clear. First on most of The Water
Babies themselves (with the obvious exceptions of Freddy, Tim and Izzy). Next on the footmen, and the various other
water creatures: Snail, Caddis Larvae, Trout, Yellow Eel, Frog and Otter. Now
it’s time for the principals, first Tom and Ellie, then Grimes and Mother
Grimes, and finally as Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby the
true star of the show, our leading lady herself.
All in all this is
a wonderful new musical. If you get a chance to go and see it down in
All the
performances are first rate, the entire company give
of their best: Joe McGann does a good as
Grimes, pulling off a believable redemption at the end. Neil McDermott
and Tom and Katherine O’Shea as Ellie are far more prominent and
noticeable than they were in The Gondoliers. Of the rest of the
company, two other remarkable performers from The Gondoliers,
namely Nicola Sloane and Alicia Davies also stand out and make themselves noticed (which with such a commanding leading
lady around is no mean feat). Christian Patterson, Steven Fawell and Sasha
Oakley are also quite memorable in the In The
Water Scene. Meanwhile: Trevor Conner, Adam Tedder,
Natasha Bain, Paul Leonard, Fiona Dunn, Steve Elias,
Deborah Crowe, Kieran Hill, Jo Nesbitt, Benedict Quirke,
and Joe Shovelton provide good convincing
supporting performances.
The really special
thing about this show being new is that the cast get to put their own mark on
it, and make it all their own, for example The Water Babies naming their
characters. There are no previous performances to compare them too. I’m sure
many of the performers benefit from this, If they want to do the songs in their
own particular style and make them their own, no critic can complain that’s not
how their “supposed” to be done. One performer who particularly benefits
from this is the uniquely individual Louise Gold. She truly does have a
wonderful part, which she does full justice to, and best of all she gets an
opportunity to do nearly all the things she’s really good at as a performer;
just about the only one of her many talents that didn’t come it is her puppeteering abilities! - though
she did get to use her strong left hand most effectively when punishing Grimes.
She also succeeds in making all three of her characters distinctively
different. To each of them perhaps she gives a part of herself. The vivacious
Irishwoman has her sense of mischievous fun. She’s rather a playful creature,
with a very distinctive way of grabbing any scene she’s in, and she
particularly shines in the song Down By The Sea..
Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid is a powerful, imperious,
commanding figure, especially when singing There’s Always A Choice, a bit of an ugly battleaxe perhaps.
Although perhaps the least like the actress herself, it is the kind of
character she’s played very effectively quite a few times in her career. And
then there’s Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby. To her Louise
has given part of her own warm personality, a graceful goddess, she comes into
her own with that wonderful song A Little Love. Yes she is a very
talented singer, but when she’s shining up there on the stage her performances
really can cheer people up and make them feel a whole lot better.
The Water
Babies moral message is about people getting their just deserts, and if
there is one single thing that makes this production extra special it is that
there is one performer who really does get exactly what she deserves. It is
quite something to see such a nice, versatile and talented singer-actress as
Louise Gold, all to often relegated to
scene-stealing supporting roles, get the chance she so richly deserves to
originate such an excellent leading lady’s role in such a jolly good new
musical. If that’s an idea that appeals to you, then you’ve just got to see
this show if you possibly can.
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to the author’s review of another Carr musical Six Pictures Of
Lee Miller |