You can’t help but be gobsmacked as you take your seat in the Edinburgh Playhouse – admiring the sheer eccentric beauty of the stage in this production of Moulin Rouge. I was personally going into this, having never seen the iconic 2001 Baz Luhrmann film, completely blind. And wow, am I glad I did.
Paris, 1899, the Moulin Rouge club is on the verge of closing down for good. But, as the proprietor of the establishment and his main “Diamond Girl” scramble to find the funds to prevent the doors closing, a young man from America with a dream of writing music and being an artist meets a duo of down-on-their-luck Bohemians. Together they all hatch a plan to save the illustrious club and its members from returning to the streets with nothing.
Verity Thompson is Satine. Thompson plays Satine with an elegance and grace, showing her character has been the “main event” for many years. Her ability to show a determination to help save her family in the club, and at the same time a complete wistful adoration for the boy she falls in love with is excellent. Thompson has some cracking numbers here, turning Fireworks by Katy Perry into a truly emotional ballad that describes her situation to a T.
Nate Landskroner is Christian. His Christian has fantastic energy and he gives an extremely charming, likeable performance, with a naivety and positivity that you can’t help but admire. Landskroner effortlessly plays the more desperate and heartbroken moments required here as well, showing a wide range of emotion and a well-traveled arch. His “Your Song” is utterly beautiful and his vocal ability on display here is joyous throughout.
Cameron Blakely plays Harold Zidler. Blakely’s performance here is fantastic. He commands the stage and plays the audience-addressing, narrator type character perfectly. His Zidler is harsh on Satine as he relies on her to help save the club, yet Blakely still manages to soften his performance, showing multiple sides to Zidler, one that cares for Satine too, and understands what she puts herself through, he is able to hit the darker, more desperate moments well. Blakely also takes on comedic scenes extremely well and holds the audience in his hand while he does.
Kurt Kansley is Toulouse-Lautrec. His performance of this animated, larger than life Bohemian who is desperate for work is excellent. He is funny, warm, determined and very likeable. Kansley tackles some big tracks in this show, but aces every one.
James Bryres portrays the villainous Duke. Bryres performance here is nice. He really leans into the slimey-suaveness of an aristocrat crook that wants to be loved by everything around him. His presence on stage is excellent, and he makes the audience truly despise him throughout; a job well done.
Johnny Galeandro plays the full-of-life Santiago. Galeandro is a comedic genius here, utilising physical comedy and also vocal techniques that are impressive to hear. The ever-passionate Latin man that Santiago is, is never one-note either, more testament to Galeandro’s performance here.
Kahlia Davis as Nini, Summer Priest as Arabia, Scott Sutcliffe as Baby Doll and Ellie Jane Grant as La Chocolat all play their parts here excellently. Whether that’s as a foursome belting out some iconic songs, or each having an individual moment to shine, the audience is always excited to see them.
The Ensemble in this production bring enormous amounts of energy and fun to this show and make the audience believe they do this every day in the actual Moulin Rouge. The harmonies are tight, the choreography crisp, most importantly their presence is felt when they enter, the walls of sound they create or the beautiful images they paint are all wonderful.
Alex Timbers direction here has to be praised. The show looks immaculate. It has a fun, consistent tone throughout that invites the audience along for the ride. Each performer knows their job inside out and the technical aspects on display here have been guided perfectly.
Sonya Tayeh’s choreography is fantastic. The moves are big and fun, it adds to the truly immersive feel this entire production has. The audience feel as if they’re in the Moulin Rouge and the dancing only adds to this. Catherine Zuber’s Costume design is great. Another aspect of this show that sucks the audience in. The lighting design from Justin Townsend is lovely here. When needed, the lighting is bold and wide spreading, truly electrifying the performance at the iconic club, but also ensuring his performers are lit to perfection so they’re performances can shine as bright as they deserve. The sound design from Peter Hylenski is superb. Lots of sound effects are added into the impressive music on display, that only help to smack the audience in the face when the band come in. The scenic design from Derek McLane is impressive, the set really does look like the streets of Paris at times and once again only immerses the audience further.
The Musical Direction from Ben Ferguson is flawless. The band in this production are truly epic and the audience are awestruck at the sound created. They have the task of tackling many different songs, sometimes all at once or consecutively one after the other in very shorts spaces of time and yet not a note out of place. The music is loud and in your face as it should be. A truly impressive concert sound is achieved here.
Overall, this is one of the best nights I’ve ever had at the Theatre, and this is the most visually impressive show I’ve seen in a long long time. There has been no expense spared in every aspect of this production and boy does it show. You can see every intricate detail on every piece of shining set and glittering costume. The music is on another level as far as I’m concerned and the cast tackled one of the most challenging sounding librettos I’ve ever heard. The show manages to so cleverly mix and mash popular songs together, leaving you on the edge of your seat with your ears perked up to hear what song is coming next. The fact this show is kicking off its world tour here in Edinburgh is frankly an honour, so get yourself along to the Moulin Rouge before the famous blades of the windmill head to their next stop on what I’m sure will be an utterly electric world tour.
Photography – Johan Persson
Playing the Edinburgh Playhouse until 14th June, get tickets here –
Theatre Scotland 
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