Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic award winning musical, South Pacific makes its way onto the stage at Theatre Royal, with Julian Ovenden and Gina Beck reprising their roles and leading a sensational cast in what was bound to be a must-see for fans and theatre lovers alike.
South Pacific – based on a south pacific island during WWII – explores a story of love and conflict through comedy, desire and racial prejudice. Tackling relationships between an american nurse and a french fugitive plantation owner, and a U.S Marine lieutenant and a young Tonkinese woman. These stories are linked nicely together by the supporting characters, who drive the story towards the climax.
The writing and music by Rodgers and Hammerstein II is what you expect from the 10x Tony award winning broadway hit. The musical score was fantastic, driven and orchestrated by David Cullen, musical director Jon Laird and supervisor Nigel Lilley. Supported by a full orchestra, the music gave such a grander, monumental feel to the show. The script is great, with the dialogue and characters giving that old Hollywood style of performances – which back in 1949 when it was originally released was normal, however now it gives a lovely nostalgic feel to watching.
Peter McKintosh is a Tony and Olivier nominated designer and he proved why he is so critically acclaimed. The set for the show was unbelievable. Every piece had a purpose and added so much to every scene, elevating the visual experience for the audience. The revolving stage added another element to the visual effects, allowing the actors to use the entire set and adding a different dimension – specifically in the talent show at the opening of Act 2 – where the revolving stage gave the ability to have action happening behind the set and infront. The costumes brought together the whole world and really grasped the audience in it. They were nicely designed and gave each character their immediate status.
Daniel Evans’ directing was very well done. There was a clear path for the story and the Evans managed to manoeuvre the characters through the story and delivered a gracious show for the viewers.
Ann Yee did a spectacular job with the choreography. The musical choreo during the numbers was very slick. The ensemble had a great chemistry and nailed Yee’s routines with great execution, looking very clean, symmetrical and effortless. Yee’s more lyrical, contemporary dance choreography for the character of Liat – played by Sera Maehara – gave a majestic and beautiful form of dance and other than Liat’s main storyline with Joe Cable, this gave Liat some uniqueness to the character and Sera Maehara a personal avenue for herself as the actor to showcase her multiple skills and talents – trading loads of dialogue for mesmerising choreography.
Julian Ovenden was incredible in the role of Emile de Becque. His authoritative but yet extremely caring and vulnerable energy brought such a fantastic balance to the character and had the audience invested heavily in his personal storyline. His operatic, tenor vocals were powerful and his rendition of This Nearly Was Mine was an amazing tear-jerker that deserved a standing ovation of its own. The chemistry between Gina Beck and Julian Ovenden was a key component to the characters’ compassion and the drive/flow of the play.
Gina Beck was phenomenal in her portrayal of Nellie Forbush. Her upbeat and giddy awra brought Forbush to life and made the audience fall in love with her from the offset. Her voice was amazing and her numbers alongside Beck’s fantastic acting ability gave the audience a rollercoaster ride with her character arc. Beck’s versatile skills made the audience laugh and cry with Nellie and feel every emotion you needed to follow her through her story. Her energy was endless throughout.
Joanna Ampil had the audience in stitches as the hard headed Bloody Mary. Ampil was extremely funny, having a perfect balance of punchlines and physical humour. She managed to show some range in her character – from the rugged, tough rebel from Bali-hai to a warm, protective mother, trying to help her daughter Liat.
Rob Houchen as Lieutenant Joseph Cable had amazing energy and understanding of the character and his personal journey. Houchen’s voice was fantastic with a great tone to his vocals. His scenes with Maehara were transfixing, having you glued to the dancing and the moments of silence between them. Their chemistry and relationship on stage was incredible and showed themselves as a great pairing.
Douggie McMeekin was a crowd favourite as Luther Billis. His witty humour and ridiculous antics were hilarious from start to finish. McMeekin never allowed his energy and intensity to drop and never let anyone’s drop around him, setting the level for every scene he was in. His talent show appearance was the highlight of the night.
David Birrell – playing Captain George Brackett – and Stephen John Davis – playing Commander William Harbison – both brought the authority figures to life, showcasing a sense of control and command with their role. Both actors had great ability to deliver their dialogue and painted their characters perfectly, adding in some great humorous moments along the way.
The rest of the cast – made up of; Antoine Murray-Straughan, Charlie Waddell, Rachel Jayne Picar, Iroy Abesamis,Trezel Sergeant, Kate Playdon, Annabel Edwards, Ellie Jane Grant, Charlotte Scott, Eleanor Wainwright, Matthew Maddison, Feline Andersson, Pierce Rogan, Josh Kiernan, George Renshaw, Leslie Garcia Bowman, James Wilkinson-Jones, Olly Christopher, Ryan Pidgen, Charlotte Coggin, Nikhil Singh Rai,Skye Theeng, Sigrid Szeto Sandberg, Lilou Domagala, George Ray Pang, Junior Thompson-Wunna and Thomas Bilsland, were brilliant from start to finish. Every cast member had their opportunity to shine and everyone added an individual bit of success to the show as a whole. The singing and harmonies were great and all the choreography was nailed to perfection.
In conclusion, South Pacific was a brilliant, theatrical show, with a fantastic all-singing, all-dancing cast that entertained the audience with everything they had. For lovers of the vintage play, go and get your tickets you “STINGY BASTARDS”.
Get your tickets here:
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/south-pacific/theatre-royal-glasgow/calendar/2022-10-05
Theatre Scotland 
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