Remember, remember, the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason, why gunpowder treason, should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes’ world comes to life in the international premiere of ‘Treason’, a brand-new musical, which is about to embark on a UK Tour. The musical debuts this week at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, playing until Saturday 28th October. The story follows Thomas and Martha Percy’s struggles as Catholics in a Protestant dominated Britain. Loss, punishment and betrayal lead Thomas on the route to enlisting Guy Fawkes to undertake the infamous treasonous act.
This production features a cast of newcomers and established performers who put so much energy into re-creating these infamous historical events.
Gabriel Akamo’s portrayal of Fawkes eerily haunts the stage as narrator, casting a shadow over the events that are to unfold. With this you feel the constant desire for more, for Fawkes to have a bigger share of the narrative, this is more so due to Akamo’s strong acting portrayal. Sam Ferriday’s Thomas Percy is a man who is lacking confidence and direction in life, his torment is felt through powerful performances of numbers, which almost resemble something you would expect Valjean to sing.
Nicole Raquel Dennis features prominently in this production, providing powerhouse vocals and a willful yet restricted Martha Percy. Dennis’ vocals deliver a rich elevation to the musical numbers. Emilie Louise Israel’s headstrong and wise Anne Vaux is a great supporting character which acts as a mediator between Thomas and Martha.
The royalty of King James is portrayed by seasoned stage and screen actor, Joe McFadden. McFadden’s portrayal embodies King James’ naivety perfectly, you see the strings being pulled by other powers. With the themes and issues being explored in this musical, you can’t help but feel tonally this character doesn’t fit, there should be a further darkness in James’ derangement, however the naivety takes over. More grit and darkness would bring a further impactful punch. Oscar Conlon-Morrey’s Robert Cecil embodies the darkness with the nuance of comedy to help engage the audience. ‘A United Kingdom’ is arguably one of the best musical numbers of this production and is performed with delicious devious darkness by Conlon-Morrey. This is a great supporting performance.
Connor Jones as Robert Catesby shows determination, a dark subconscious and the power to stage a revolution. Joining Jones in his crusade is Alfie Richards as Big Wintour, Lewis Edgar as Little Wintour and Kyle Cox as Jack Wright. The three show great vocals and physical presence on stage.
The ensemble of this production mould scenes, embody guards, civilians and performers. They do this with tremendous energy, shifting per the tone and pace of each scene as well as providing stupendous vocals. The ensemble are as follows; Femi Akinfolarin, Filippo Coffano, Megan Curley, Dan Gill, Elena Gyasi, Naomi Katiyo and Louis Mackrodt.
Ricky Allan’s music and lyrics (with additional lyrics from Debris Stevenson and Kieran Lynn) lead the atmospheric poignancy of this musical, with breathtaking ensemble numbers, emotional solos and heartbreaking duets, building to a failed revolution. There is variation in the style of music explored in this production, with orchestration from Matthew Malone which builds the grandeur of this score. Whilst there are several outstanding numbers, you can’t help but feel at points there are too many ballads, especially within Act Two, which slightly faulters the variation and pacing of the overall musical. What I would say is when the music in this production is at it’s best, it holds a richness that has not been seen in new musicals for quite sometime, which is admirable.
Hannah Chissick’s direction of this production holds a contemporary vision, where although the story explores historical events, you see the modern takes and the tongue in cheek references to current times. The production also takes inspiration from other historical musicals which have come before it. Mostly you see the uniqueness of this musical come through with religion being the bedrock of the conflict in this narrative, however, at points you see direct creative decisions which are taken from a similar musical about one of America’s founding fathers. In terms of execution, there are some problems, with blocking occasionally being rather clunky, tonally some scenes seem misjudged and there’s an inconsistency in pacing. There are prominent moments in the latter half of act two which are sped through and hold no poignancy despite how important they are to the narrative. Charli Eglinton and Kieran Lynn’s book leads the audience on a story into the unknown, not everyone knew of the couple and group behind the attempt to blow up parliament. Whilst their struggles are engaging, it feels that Guy Fawkes could have been more involved in the story rather than just narrating, his journey to his fate is unknown and yet the audience want to know more. Also as previously mentioned, pacing can be irregular, therefore the book could perhaps have been more consistent in which events needed emphasized. We are at the beginning of this musical’s life, therefore perhaps these issues will be ironed out in due course.
This musical features sleek movement sequences and appropriate choreography from Taylor Walker, taking the audience from setting to setting mostly effectively. With this, a stripped back yet highly effective set and stunning costume design from Philip Witcomb, immerses the audience in the time period of the gunpowder treason plot. Jason Taylor’s atmospheric lighting design which almost feels like it is candlelit, is highly effective and sets the tone of each scene.
‘Treason – The Musical’ is a production which has many ingredients to light the flame of a hit musical; an extremely talented cast, stunning design, and an impactful score. Yet due to pacing, the focus of the narrative, and a mismatch in tone, it doesn’t quite set the fuse alight. However, it still is an entertaining night at the theatre and the musical is still at the beginning of it’s life, therefore changes may be made.
Get tickets for ‘Treason – The Musical’ here:
https://www.capitaltheatres.com/whats-on/all-shows/treason-the-musical/2207
Theatre Scotland 
Leave a comment