Anyone who’s seen both a musical and the BT studio would be interested to see how the two could possibly intersect. Tradition dictates the former lend itself to grandiose shows of emotion, toe-tapping choruses, jazz hands and climactic anthems, while the latter sees more sombre, intimate affairs of theatre.
The Dummy Tree is exactly where these ideas meet. Restrained, nuanced, subtle – it’s thoroughly contemporary. The piece is a highly modern fairytale, with strong elements of the Romantic about it. Everyday characters (a mother; a bridegroom; the best man and wedding party) enact two threads that become increasingly intertwined, initially linked by the unifying theme of transience. The Mother (Kathryn Armstrong) coaxes her child, Jack, to move on and develop, giving up his dependency on his pacifier, while Paul (Chris Morgan), 17, frets over his impending wedding. Is he ready for this? Neither sees the other beneath the Dummy Tree, a warped kind of Faraway Tree in a twisted sort of Wonderland.
The set is simple but daring, its crowning pieces a bench and a tree. This is an immense tree, one which will sweep the studio ceiling, festooned with the various litter of unwanted addictions. With no space for choreography, a great degree of intricacy in movement and expression, not to mention oodles of atmosphere, will be called for if the audience is to keep engaged. Luckily, tension abounds, broken only briefly for sensitive and funny interjections by the supporting cast of watcher cameraman and self involved bridesmaids.
This is the first production of the musical since its YMT debut. From the very little I heard of the piece, MD Ben Holder has certainly been successful in drilling a tricky, tripping score into his talented cast and they have overcome the unexpected difficulty of a last minute replacement (welcome, Elspeth Cumber).
With only a simple piano accompaniment, you might mistake this for a simple sing – you’d be wrong. Voices are laid bare and the piano contends as much as it supports the performers; it’s definitely a complex production. The piece is reminiscent of Jason Robert Brown, of Sondheim. There’s something vaguely operatic about it, too, with the disconcerting, discordant motifs (‘Underneath the Dummy Tree…’). Its music is well-matched with its themes.
If Kathryn Armstrong’s opening gambit was in any way representative of what’s to come, there’s no doubt your aural thirst will be slaked. Her tone is sweet but wonderfully fraught, conveying well the sense of something not being quite right. The enunciation is pleasing, especially her vowel formation, heightening the terse efforts to maintain control, normalcy.
The only doubt for me is over the acoustics – the preview that I saw took place in a similar sized room to the BT space and I found the piano to be somewhat overpowering of Armstrong’s voice, surmounted only in the group number that followed (which made me shiver).
If anything’s going to pique your interest this term, it’s this. And if there’s anyone you can trust to pull off such a wacky musical creation, it’s the creative team behind Oxford’s last big hit, Spring Awakening. Book your tickets now, folks. I’m excited.
4 STARS
