Imagine This at the New London Theatre

Imagine This at the New London Theatre

21 November, 2008
by: Joe Harrod

Never has a 'half time' audience looked so bemused as the assembled critics and families gathered in the lobby for the opening night of Imagine This at the New London Theatre. As hacks jostle for wine and members of the public talk loudly about their confusion, a common sentiment is discernible on every face. The opening hour something of this bold new musical presents some of the most heart-stopping moments in the genre, but there are also awkward devices and bum notes, and the over-riding concern for the second half is – will they pull it off? I'm happy to report, that at the final curtain this show has to be rated a triumph.

So, we have a frightening premise, and there's a definite sense before the first act begins that this could be a car-crash production. Apart from the fact that the Holocaust is hardly a setting for a musical, there are no big stars and the production team is devoid of familiar names. The audience is palpably nervous as the lights fall for a first scene, and a young girl plays with a toy carousel.

The first ten minutes are probably the best I've seen in a musical. No, they definitely are. There's a rousing nostalgic tune, slick dance and set play, and a smart introduction to a doomed Jewish family that blends joy and pathos perfectly. It's captivating and moving and suddenly I'm not worried anymore, instead I'm thinking 'God, they're geniuses. Who would have thought this would make such a good subject? This could be the best show ever.'

There are big problems. The musical-within-a-musical device works well to frame eternal questions and throw light and shade onto the doomed lives of the players. However it also means that both ancient Jewish warriors and harassed modern dads sing in the same tones. Sometimes the script moves cleverly and seamlessly between the two scenarios and makes effective use of the parallels. At other moments, glaring differences between heroic defiance and terrified submission are glossed, which just doesn't work when you're dealing with such emotive history.

There's a 'love conquers all' sub plot within both plays that is necessary as a framing device, but totally unbelievable in both contexts. It's implausible and faintly risible within the Masada production, and adds a truly distasteful candyfloss sheen to the Final Solution. The hopeful ideal of living on in memory actually doesn't require anyone to survive and they should have been braver.

However, the dancing and acting carries everything along and even jarring moments work within a whole. There's some really silly hand-dancing and plain weird raunchiness, but generally the song and dance numbers are brilliant. Peter Polycarpou as the beleagured but eternally optimistic father and Leila Benn Harris as his daughter are particularly outstanding and vocally powerful.

It's not the best show ever, in the end, or even the best show in town. The music is stirring but forgettable and the Masada subplot at times detracts from a wonderful play about the Warsaw ghetto. However the central performances are brilliant, the songs and comedy are played just right and the play comes together coherently and with massive emotional impact in the second act. That bravura opening is matched by a finale that's heart rending and wonderful.

I don't think Imagine This is going to run and run. It's a bit grim and I can't picture myself asking for a family ticket to return on my next birthday… and musicals depend to an astonishing degree on repeat business. However for this reason I'd recommend that you go see it, now. They've done something very different here and, against all odds, it makes for an emotional and inspiring night at the theatre.

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Joe Harrod