Frank Wendekind’s play was banned in the 1890s for the same reason that its recent musical adaptation has enjoyed such success: its vivid exploration of the tumult and trials of puberty. Spring Awakening is a musical about tension: sexual and sensual; repression and expression; death and maturity; authority and responsibility.
The 6th Week performances by the Magdalen Players in Keble’s O’Reilly Theatre will be some of the first seen of the play since it left the West End. If you missed the show in New York or London, don’t make the same mistake twice. The play is powerful and confrontational. It unabashedly asks questions of itself, the audience, and society. The music, folk-rock hybrid, is stunning and the vocal talent of this cast is impressive.
James Carroll, the show’s director, intentionally echoes some features of the Broadway and West End productions while deliberately breaking with conventions concerning accents. The set and choreography are highly reminiscent of previous professional performances. The set relies mainly on lighting to set mood and location, a minimalistic convention which helps to modernize the play and highlight the actors. While convention works for the set, it falls flat with the choreography. The play is about the chaos of pubescent minds and bodies, but mimicking the choreography of the original productions lends itself to stale numbers. ‘The Bitch of Living,’ a punk-infused number bristling with sexual frustration, is meant to reflect the raw and confused passions of the characters, yet the production’s choreography seems stilted and rehearsed. It gives the whole experience a contemplated feel which works at cross-purposes with the chaos of the number.
On the whole, however, the production feels professional. Alice Pearse captures the innocence, desire, and sexual curiosity of Wendla. Her voice shines like crystal, which is, in some ways, a problem. In this punkish musical, her clarity comes off as simplistic – even if her melody and harmonizing are spot-on.
It is Cassie Barraclough (Ilse) who focuses our attention on the pain, confusion, and dangers of the quiet repression of sex and sexuality. Brain Earp’s portrayal of the protagonist, Melchior, effectively captures his character’s inner strength and confidence. In ‘Totally F**ked,’ his interaction with the cast demonstrates his power over his peers – a power which frees them all, through suicide, through rebellion, and through the pains of pregnancy. This play destroys the power of shame, and if the actors don’t balk at the responsibility their empowerment could be contagious.
