|
|
 |
| |
Hope should have been even greater
DAYS OF HOPE
King’s Head
KEN Loach’s film Land and Freedom and CJ Sansom’s novel Winter in Madrid were wonderful accounts of the ruptures between Left and Right during the Spanish Civil War.
The songs in Days of Hope, written in 1990, are catchy, well written and evocative.
But as a political play it is naïve – it is an old-fashioned tear jerker that hits your heart not your mind.
The story begins with a family celebrating the marriage of their daughter Sofia to an English volunteer Stanley on the eve of their escape to England.
As the wedding meal unfolds, well-wishers condemn Franco, Mussolini and Hitler, as well as Britain for its non-intervention.
We have representatives of the laissez-faire Spanish propaganda and the extreme views of comrade José.
Siobhan McCarthy, fresh from playing Mamma in the West End musical Mamma Mia, gave a solid performance, this time as the matriarch Maria in Renata Allen’s script. Her relationship with Carlos was sweet and believable. The scene in which she refuses to dance with him so as not to make a fool of herself is both funny and moving, and her solo Market Day is understated yet powerful.
Matt Cross, a committed anti-fascist fighter, was the best of the seven actors making the ensemble – his solo Long Live Death was far and away the highlight of the evening. Sebastian Chichizola as Antonio sang the chorus Days of Hope soulfully – he welled-up tears at one point drawing applause from the audience.
The final song of the socialists’ 13-year-old mascot built to a wonderful crescendo spreading dreamlike optimism throughout the room.
Howard Goodall’s score, with smooth musical direction by Kelvin Thomson, is undoubtedly the strength of this production.
But the story is lacking and the characters jarred.
I left feeling frustrated that it had come close to being great and then stumbled when it shouldn’t have.
Until April 22
|
 |
Check Prices, Availability & Book Online
Receive Online Discounts and Instant Confirmation |
|
|
|
