A row about the dominance of musicals over plays in the West End is fuelled by snobbery, according to the director of a new hit show.
The heated debate began when veteran playwright David Hare said the latest production of Oklahoma! was “squatting” at Wyndham’s Theatre and that it was “a crushing defeat” for the venue not to have a straight play on instead.
Writing in The Spectator, Hare said: “Musicals have become the leylandii of theatre, strangling everything in their path.”
But James Grieve, director of the new Silvio Berlusconi musical, said such productions were “absolutely 100 per cent” the victims of snobbery.
He added: “I think there is not always an understanding of the technical skill or expertise that goes into telling a story through music. It’s an enormous amount of technical and musical skill to bring that work together and I think those skills, which we have in abundance in this country, are often overlooked.”
Grieve, who has also worked at venues from the Bush Theatre to the National Theatre, said the predominance of musicals was more to do with the effects of the pandemic and lockdown which closed theatres for months than any move away from straight drama.
He said: “I completely understand why, post-pandemic, when the industry has taken such a hit, there is a lot of work currently being made that is likely to maybe already have an audience and already have a following for a title or music or a book.
“That makes commercial sense to me at a time in the world when the industry really needs to recover and revive. I don’t see it as a suggestion of a long-term trend. I just think we’re in a particular moment when there are more musicals in town than there are straight plays but that will change again in 12 months.”
He said Oklahoma! had been “reinvented” for the latest production and was not just the West End “playing things safe”.
He spent four years working with the writers of Berlusconi to bring to the stage the story of the rise and fall of the controversial Italian prime minister who led the country for nine years and was eventually convicted of tax fraud.
Grieve said: “I don’t think there is anything you can’t make a musical about. If you can find the right structure and the right style you can use music to tell any story.”
Berlusconi is at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until April 29.
