This month sees NI Opera bring their latest production, Into The Woods, to the stage at the Lyric Theatre.
The musical is not only the first major production from the group since Covid struck, but also the first production to be helmed by NI Opera's newest Artistic Director Cameron Menzies. Hailing from Australia originally, Cameron's career encompasses opera, theatre, music theatre, cabaret and film-making and his work has been seen throughout Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa, Japan and China.
The choice of Into The Woods as NI Opera's first post-lockdown production feels poignant, as it comes just a few short months after the death of the musical's composer and co-creator, Stephen Sondheim.
As we enter the Lyric's Main Stage, it's heartening to see that it's packed out. After two years of lockdowns and sporadic reopenings, theatre appears to be as popular in Belfast as it ever was.
As for the musical itself, for those who don't know Into The Woods - it's a part send-up, part love-note, part Frankenstein mash-up of some of the most well known fairytales of all time, with characters and plotlines interwoven from Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella. As such, the play itself is a heady, dizzying, joyful, self-referential, cautionary, and even, at times, touching look at the nature of fairytales and why they've persisted.
The stage for this production is kept minimal. One staircase goes from the front centre of the stage to the back, with mini Escher-like staircases coming out from multiple angles, giving the characters multiple entrance points. The staircase is encompassed by a beautiful, wondrous, circular wooden design, which, incredibly, looks almost like a larger version of the Locky Morris - Polestar Sculpture on the way to Letterkenny ( here, for reference).
So things are kept uncluttered, as is probably best for a fairytale story such as this, where the story, by its nature, is cluttered.
Imagination is key, and full weight is put upon the performers themselves. The cast is made up of some brilliant local and international performers, including Season Kearns (Narrator), Kelly Mathieson (Cinderella), Conor Quinn (Jack), Wendy Ferguson (Jack's Mother), Alaistair Brookshaw (Baker), Sinead O'Kelly (Baker's Wife), Catherine Diggas (Cinderalla's Stepmother), Jolene O'Hara (Florinda), Brigid Shine (Lucinda), Paddy Jenkins (Cinderella's Father), Samantha Gifford (Little Red Riding Hood), Allison Harding (The Witch), Mary McCabe (Rapunzel), and Peter Hannah (Cinderella's 'Prince').
Each of the characters, and each of their storylines, is brilliant in its own way. Jack and his mother have a unique, local charm which plays well for the Belfast audience; the Baker and his wife are brilliant conversational sparing partners, and there's something moving about their desperation to build a family for themselves; Little Red Riding Hood has the kind of cloying innocence which is necessary for her character; and Cinderella's family bring lighthearted dysfunctionality to the mix.
Allison Harding, who plays the Witch, is one of the highlights of the show. Her tongue-twisting first number, which sets the baker and his wife off on their journey into the woods, rightly gets a rapturous audience reception, while her transformation from ugly spinster to dazzling beauty shows her range. Other highlights are Mary McCabe (Rapunzel), whose epic soprano strikes you down on the spot. Northern Irish stalwart Sean Kearns plays both the Narrator and the Mysterious Man characters with aplomb. Elsewhere Peter Hannah loads his performance as the Prince with plenty of humour and personality, making him a firm favourite with audiences. And finally, Kelly Mathieson's Cinderella is the decided star of the show - with Kelly showing herself to be a consummate actor, singer and dancer with this role.
The show is at its best when there's a song being sung, but can be at its worst when there's not. For a musical which gets its dynamism and humour from mashing disparate fairytales together in unusual, complex ways, it can sometimes feel in this production like the actual story is taking a backseat, with actors rushing to get the lines out - or the Narrator rushing through expository detail - before getting to the next musical number.
Overall though, this is a joyful production, with an excellent cast, magnificent music, and evidently a very good background team (everything from the dancing to the costumes, the make-up, the sound and the lighting were on point). We're lucky to have a talent like Cameron Menzies working in Northern Ireland, so it's worth going to see this if you get the chance.
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