Director: Emily-Anne Lyons

Composer: Matthew Pearson

Librettist: Harry Benfield

Reviewer: James Waddell

The Public Reviews Rating:

 

Opera is a form often left to the seven-figure, four-hour productions of London and New York heavyweights – sometimes with good reason. The difficulty of attempting to perform a good play and a good concert at the same time is mind-boggling, and can seem best left to unfold below the colossal, gilted proscenium arch of the ENO’s Coliseum. This cheap but cheerful production proves otherwise – in a miniscule black box above a (marvellous and highly recommended) pub, Emily-Anne Lyons has managed to create a simple but largely satisfying piece, buoyed up by Matthew Pearson’s cracking composition. It is certainly tough in such a space to create a weird, wild, werewolf-infested forest through which Harry Benfield’s quirky plot-line can twist and turn, embroiling gullible tourists, conniving guest-house owners and a character who may or may not be a werewolf. The onstage orchestra’s music stands were atmospherically overgrown with the glued-on greenery that covered Emily Howard’s minimalist set, and as the lights went down and Pearson’s set-piece gothic tremolo went up, straight out of a soundtrack for Dracula or Frankenstein, this shoe-string budget production looked to be moving away from the school-play feel by which such shows are sometimes marred. Unfortunately, Pam Tait’s less than inspiring costume design dragged it straight back into such territory – the actors looked as if they had selected clothes at random from a substandard dressing-up box, and it was initially difficult to see beyond the 18th century pastoral-cum-present-day punk assortment. However, as soon as Guy Withers opened his mouth to sing the first line, the questionable costumes no longer mattered – all the singers were young, talented performers just reaching the top of their game, and it showed as they compellingly negotiated the sometimes intricate arrangement of libretto and music, even if it did end up seeming like a concert vaguely illustrated by a little acting. Soprano Laura Curry was particularly accomplished as Phoebe, her powerful voice drifting in and out of beautiful discord with Pearson’s hammer-horror composition – certainly one to watch when she finishes her Music Diploma. And no matter how much patrons pay to sit in red velvet seats, you can’t buy a voice like her’s – an edge that this otherwise slightly blundering production put to good use.

 

The Wolves Descend at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre, Kentish Town , 5.0 out of 5 based on 5 ratings

Tags: Emily Howard, Emily-Anne Lyons, Guy Withers, Harry Benfield, Laura Curry, Lion and Unicorn Theatre, Matthew Pearson, The Wolves Descend