First things first – happy birthday to Chickenshed! 50 years is an incredible time to be in operation in the arts world and especially so when you’re sticking unwaveringly to your principles of inclusivity and diversity. A quick glance at the interactive timeline in the cafe area shows the sheer amount of love there is for the ‘Shed. And deservedly so.
So congratulations from LWAT and let’s hope that Eva at least is still around to celebrate your centenary. i’m not promising to be there myself.
For such a landmark, you need a spectacular show and “Love From Carmen” was certainly spectacular. It was ambitious – the first time I’ve seen a Chickenshed production almost without any spoken dialogue. There was a lot of rapping and singing but it was operatic in that everything was set to music, often at a frantic pace befitting the urgency and desperation of Carmen’s situation.
I wasn’t overly familiar with the story of Carmen tho I knew the main musical themes from my “keyboard classics” songbook of the 90s. So I could have hummed you “Habanera” or “Toreador Song” before tonight but I couldn’t have told you the context. So I had no idea how faithful to the story this production was but having read the synopsis now, it does seem quite a faithful retelling. And the music is treated with respect as well. At times, I felt like I could have been watching the original opera albeit with updated lyrics. Other times it was a much grittier vibe, with lyrics being spat out by the narrators with that urgency I mentioned earlier. I wasn’t sure how rap would blend with the classical music but it works remarkably well. Transplanting the story into a refugee camp not only made it topical but also gave it that sense of edge and danger that complemented the rap. Being a choir girl, my favourite moments were probably when the whole cast were singing in harmony but I liked the contrast between that and the more dissonant bits.
The lynchpin of the whole story and this show is, of course, Carmen herself and Bethany Hamlin was perfectly cast with just the right amounts of rebellion and romance. I mentioned Bethany in my last review for – I believe – making us care about a singing alligator and she shines again here. Not only can she sing but she can also rap, dance, act and perform ariel gymnastics.
Oh yes, the ariel work was amazing. Even before the show started, there was a performer doing hoop and silks work and Eva was just gawping. She leant over to me and said “if this was the entire show, I’d be quite happy”. The hoops appeared a number of times during the show and it was impressive every time. It really adds authenticity to the circus setting and I know from Holly’s hooping that it’s blimming hard work. So if these performers learnt these skills just for this show, they did amazingly well.
Michael Bossisse took the other lead role – the narcissistic Escamillo – and he pulled it off well with mostly arrogance but occasional vulnerability. And some of his own circus skills as well. I think I’ve seen him in a lot of Chickenshed productions and he’s always an assured actor. Here, he worked well with Bethany, creating some tangible chemistry but also letting her take centre stage. The other two leads were Cerys Lambert as Micaela and Will Laurence as Don Jose. In some ways, they had less to work with characterwise – Micaela certainly doesn’t seem to get much of her own back story except being a childhood sweetheart of Don Jose. It’s never explained why she wants to be a soldier’s wife – which I believe is also blimming hard work. But Cerys Lambert makes the character sympathetic and her singing voice is perfect, with just the right amount of fragility. When she and Carmen duet on one of the versions of “Habanera” it’s magic – their voices go so well together.
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Will Laurence really comes into his own in the second act. While Don Jose doesn’t have much to him apart from “soldier” at first, he becomes a lot more interesting once he’s spiralling into a jealous rage. Will portrays that well, taking us with him on the journey from good solder to potential murderer. I also loved the performance of his boss – Jonny Morton oozing evil as the sinister General X.
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If this all sounds very intense and emotional then let me tell you – it was. This is rated age 11 plus and it really is a more mature side of Chickenshed. There is violence at the end and some language that you probably wouldn’t want your toddler learning. I don’t think Eva would have coped well with this a few years ago but she’s nearly 12 now and she loved it. It reminded me of “West Side Story” at times, with the aggression between the two groups – the soldiers and the circus people – and it had that same intensity. This story needs passion because it would be flat without it but trust me, this production had passion and danger in spades.
At the same time, there is still lightness and fun sprinkled throughout, with plenty of the trademark Chickenshed high-energy dances where you don’t know where to look because so much is going on. There is still a mixed-ability ensemble who work flawlessly together to create the crowd scenes and there is joyfulness. But this is opera – of course it’s going to end with tragedy. Which is another reason why it reminded me of “West Side Story”. There is an inevitability as soon as Carmen draws the death card that things are going to spiral. The violent scene that is mentioned in the trigger warning is very effectively done and jangled my nerves almost as much as “Stranger Things” did last week. And, as per that same trigger warning, there was nothing graphic in it.
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I have two special mentions – one for the quartet who sang two songs in the second half in beautiful harmony – I think they were “Midnight Song” and “Early Morning Song”. In the midst of all the intensity, those were two very peaceful moments which provided some relief and contrast. The second special mention is for the trio of rappers who acted as narrators throughout. All the rapping in this was right on point but they especially had some heavy lifting to do and were always bang on cue. Nothing about this score could have been easy to master – fusing rap with Bizet is challenging – but these three made it look effortless.
So a show that’s visually pleasing, musically eclectic and emotionally draining – this is an awesome achievement for Chickenshed’s half century. Do heed the age rating as it is a powerful piece and we wouldn’t want any sobbing three year-olds on the way home. But it’s perfect for your music-loving tweens and teens. Oh, and try the mango and lime ice cream during the interval. It is incredible.
“Love from Carmen” runs until 23rd March. For tickets and more info, click here.
Disclaimer: I received free tickets in exchange for a review. All opinions remain honest and my own.
