“Whimsical, immersive, bohemian. This highly talented cast, team of creatives and crew excellently capture the mystical world of Hirson and Schwartz’s Pippin. “
Hirson and Schwartz’s Pippin follows a young prince in search of passion and adventure in his life. To prove that he is a valuable player in his father’s jumbled chess set (King Charles), he goes to war. However, when the Leading Player convinces him to strike back against tyranny, Pippin kills his father and takes over the throne. He soon realises being a great ruler is not as easy as he had thought, so continues his quest where he meets widow Catherine and her son Theo along the way. Pippin must make a difficult choice of whether to settle down or to keep making magic with the symphony of players who promised him success in finding a purpose.
Amanda Nor’s revival magically captured the world of the players through a mystical lens, immediately immersing audience members with the selection of Pippin from amongst the spectator seating, alluding to the message that he is one of us from the start and allowing further empathy towards his character. The entire piece was well directed from the get-go, with not a creative choice out of place, allowing each member of the cast to shine with their individual talents.
We are left in the capable hands of Emily Friberg (Leading Player), who effortlessly shone with her powerhouse voice and captivating storytelling and expression. Emily demonstrated the puppeteer role of the Leading Player, manipulating Pippin throughout the piece and showing an impressive range of emotion and musicality, a triple threat indeed. Our protagonist, Lewis Edgar as Pippin, demonstrated his incredible tenor voice and huge range of acting skills as he unpicks Pippin’s character as if living the role. Lewis continued to portray a truth and humbleness to the character, married with a powerful belt in songs reflecting Pippin’s struggle and triumph. Mia Quimpo as the wonderful Catherine also elegantly showed her talents in her beautiful, powerful voice and inviting narration, with great comedic timing as she breaks the narrative and releases new life into the performance much to the Leading Player’s chagrin.
Clare Brice (Berthe) had a warm, wonderful stage presence with brilliant comedic elements, fluid and flexible dancing with noticeable musicality and offered a safe space for audience interaction during her big number. Oliver Wood (Charles) gave an impressive offering of skill during a patter song with his great diction and comedy skills whilst also showing vulnerability in his final moments after his tyrannical reign. Helena Caldas (Fastrada) had such wonderful technique in her dancing and beautiful singing voice as she exudes a charming yet commanding role using the band to her advantage to have Charles (and the audience) in the palm of her hand.
Daniel North (Louis) gave a wonderful range of character and fluidity in movements. I wish I had more opportunities to hear him sing since I heard some powerful notes towards the finale, such a strong voice. Similarly with Imogen Amos and George Kipa, however the two showcase their individualism with Imogen’s excellent Dance Captain abilities with Fosse influences and George’s great strength and dance technique with captivating facial expressions.
Musical choices were excellently carried out by Harry Style and Manuel Gageiro alongside Martin T. Hart as Magic Consultant to really sell the travelling magic show. Set and costume by Hannah Danson also added to the whimsical aesthetic with contemporary influences and astrological ones – so much detail! Simon Jackson’s lighting design further personified the Leading Player’s actions in particular.
Overall this revival demonstrated how our great purpose in life is just to love and allow yourself to be loved through a wonderfully talented team of cast, creatives and crew.