Friday 27 February 2009

NOT: Spring Awakening, Lyric Hammersmith, King St, Hammersmith W6 0QL

Yalin and I both agreed - we didn't dislike Spring Awakening, but we didn't like it either - and we wouldn't recommend it others.

I can see why the hype had built up. The adolescent search for meaning, identity and knowledge is a theme with which every audience member could identify, in their present or in their past. The teenage cast were engaging, with pretty Charlotte Wakefield (Wendla) giving a particularly standout performance with her charming, poised stage presence and beautiful ringing voice that I could have listened to forever.

However, mainly what put us off was the music, some of the singing and the somewhat amateurish choreography. The modern lyrics were incomprehensible, some of the storyline was weird (Wendla asking to be beaten), at times the singing was nasal and out of tune and the dancing/stomping/jumping made it almost like a very slick Rock Eisteddford performance.

Perhaps I would have loved it if I'd been 18....

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