Staging a full-scale musical in a fringe theatre venue is no mean feat. Captivate Theatre can unbelievably each year perform multiple shows throughout a Fringe day, and this year’s icing on the cake is a stripped-back but powerful production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera.
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical based on the novel by Gaston Leroux which was then brought to the stage by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe. The story follows Christine Daaé, a ballet chorus dancer at the Opera Populaire who is being trained by a mysterious tutor. As the cast complains to managers about hearing ghostly noises and unexpected incidents occurring, they simply dismiss this as “these things do happen”. As more and more things happen and the phantom’s influence over Christine becomes greater, the ensemble begins a hunt to find this mysterious phantom.
Tackling a work of this nature with its complex musical styles and detailed characters takes a very strong experienced cast. In its performances, Captivate Theatre delivers the goods. Firstly, Stephaine Strachan as Carlotta, the Opera Populaire’s leading Soprano, delivers a strong vocal performance with good acting ability. Lucy Whelan as Christine Daaé is so well cast that each phrase acting or sung feels delivered with such emotion and thought. Wishing You Were Somewhere Here Again and Think Of Me were two particular highlights. The Phantom in this production is unlike any other in that the lead performer, Colum Findlay doubles up as the show’s joint Musical director. As they are revealed as the Phantom, stepping away from their conductors' podium, this mix of what must be practical, and also a real surprise as an audience member makes it almost feel like the full performance is under the Phantom’s gaze. As both a musical director and as the Phantom, Colum delivers a brilliant take on the character so many others have performed before.
The rest of the cast was equally strong with a brilliant moment being several of the show's main characters delivering several lines competing with each other in Prima Donna. The lead ballet dancer was also a strong addition to the show showcasing their great skill as a performer. Sally Lyall, who directs the show, allowed her performers to showcase their abilities and you can see she has put in a lot of work to get that quality of performance out of the cast. The only areas of feedback are rooted in choices made around the funnier lines sometimes feeling like these are being delivered for laughs and some acting choices tend to lean towards this. The dialogue itself is funny enough so don't feel it needs that extra push on occasions.
When it comes to the design of the staging, as noted this is fairly minimal, but is effective. The use of the mirrors at the start to highlight Christine’s character as the ensemble spins around is very impressive. The iconic chandelier, be it slightly smaller scale, is present, as is the monkey music box. The orchestra under Colum Findlay’s and Fraser Hume's direction is powerful and delivers a full orchestra sound. What appears a careful usage of tracks, helps enhance the sound, in particular in the show’s overture.
Sound by Greg Young and Mark Simpson is very impressive too with good use of sound effects, sound coming from different places, and a good balance between the orchestra and the multiple microphones. This is also shown in the use of echo effects for the Phantom and the clarity across the voices was impressive. The venue itself of The Edinburgh Academy is small in scale but allows the focus to be on the performances. The costumes were also brilliant and felt like they could have been taken from the West End Production.
Overall, the show gives you Goosebumps at multiple points throughout. It was well-sung and performed at a high standard. The production is filled with future West End vocalists and as audience members you will be taken under the Phantom’s spell from the beginning to the end.
This show has been rated ☆☆☆☆
The Phantom of the Opera runs at The Edinburgh Academy - Magnusson Theatre until the 17th of August. For full details visit: https://www.captivatetheatre.com/edinburgh-fringe-2024
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