A monumental spectacle in muted browns.
Originally written as stories under the title Tevye’s Daughters, the musical centres around the life of a Jewish milkman in 19th century Russia. It focuses heavily on family, identity and, as the title refers to, the tumultuous aspect of change. Whilst there are many witty and joyful moments throughout Act 1, it is a show that inevitably ends sombrely with no final musical number, the cast collected in the corner of the stage as they are forced to turn and leave their home.
Starting out as an open-air production, this tour has definitely brought the outdoors in. From pitch blackness, The Fiddler emerges on a roof of thatch, which is reflected in the rest of the minimal set. It completely works, and the touch of the floorboards spelling Anatevka as well as the roof being lowered or raised (particularly to create the wedding canopy) is genius. For once, I was glad to be in the dress circle to have the birds’ eye view of these details. The lighting also really shone through in this production, having the warm fire of a sunrise or sunset and the dramatic silhouette of The Fiddler. I particularly loved the use of real candles, a little thing that just made it all more authentic. One thing I did find fault in was that I sort of missed the moment when Tevye’s milk cart is upturned by looking at the other side of the stage. I can’t help but feel that a better lighting or sound cue could have been used to bring attention to this important scene, even though there was still drama in the aftermath of the spreading milk puddle.
Three of the biggest songs in the show are back-to-back from the beginning, having a really strong introduction with ‘Tradition’ which is a long song but holds interest as the music builds towards the end. I wasn’t expecting Topol standards from this Tevye, but I was unconvinced until ‘If I Were a Rich Man’. And even though Matthew Woodyat was a good singer and nailed the Yiddish pronunciation, the English accent took me out of it and there was a disappointing lack of shimmy to his main song.
All of the girls had worthy voices, performing a really appealing ‘Matchmaker’. However, Natasha Jules Bernard’s Tzeitel was especially powerful, most notably during ‘The Dream’ as she took on the role of Golda’s grandmother. The ghostly white costumes and playful staging of this song were also very cleverly done. When giving credit, I have to mention The Fiddler, which is probably the peak of all actor-musician roles, and Raphael Papo was even able to play whilst lying upside down. It was a beautiful moment when Hannah Bristow joined him with an oboe on the song dedicated to her character, ‘Chavaleh’.
The main triumph of this show has got to be the choreography. Every single move was big enough for the farthest audience member to behold. It was dance heavy without feeling like too much or far-fetched. And if you need one reason to buy tickets, it would be to witness the bottle dance live. So utterly brilliant and captivating, you could feel the atmosphere in the room change.
Overall, this production succeeded in hitting all the key points you could ask for from Fiddler on the Roof. It was funny, moving and stunning to look at, whilst sticking to its original period setting. For a musical that has been around since the 1960s, now is still as good a time as any to enjoy the show that is a classic for a reason.