The Optimist spent Saturday night watching Olivier award winning musical Once, at London's Phoenix Theatre. In the words of Iggy Azelia: I'm proper fancy - or something along those lines.
Once the musical is based on the feature film of the same name by director John Carney (who also directed Begin Again). Shot on location in Dublin with a budget of just €180,000, the film went on to win the Oscar for 'Best Original Song' and was adapted into a Broadway musical in 2012. After winning no less than eight Tony awards, Once transferred to the West End in 2013 and now plays at The Phoenix Theatre on Charing Cross Road.
How's this for a meet cute: down-on-his-luck hoover repairman/ floundering musician meets Czech piano player with a conveniently broken hoover. Ok, so it's not Romeo and Juliet but it's a pretty effective starting point for what becomes an unconventional love story. Remember the opening scene in The Social Network where Mark Zuckerberg and his girlfriend are arguing in a bar? That's what this reminded me of: really sharp dialogue, not a word wasted and one character completely overpowering the other. They're both really likeable - the guy's hilariously deadpan, the girl's infectiously upbeat (that's what they're called by the way, guy and girl - you never find out their real names) and the whole thing's funny - like, really funny! Her thick accent, his bewildered little face, a supporting cast full of misfits, I could hear members of the audience in the stalls below us repeatedly spluttering with laughter.
Once won one of its many Tony awards for its production design and it's easy to see why. There's only one set - the pub where guy and girl first meet, but it's transformed into a music shop, a bank and a recording studio with a bit of clever lighting and a couple of simple props. It's interactive too - you can go up on stage during the interval and collect your half-time drinks from the bar. Before the show officially starts, the cast take-over the pub for a full on jam sesh as the audience files in. It's really cool, like an open-mic night at your local pub (but with less booze and better singers) until halfway through one of the songs, the house lights go down and the show starts. There's no big fanfare like there would be in Les Mis or Phantom, but the understated start sets the mood for the rest of the show.
That's probably the most important thing to tell people about Once - it's not like other musicals, it's far more subtle. The characters are musicians so the songs occur naturally, as part of the story - there are no spontaneous musical numbers and the lyrics don't carry the plot. It's casual, like your favourite stonewashed denims. The thing that really sets it apart from other West End shows though, is that the cast doubles as the band. There's no orchestra, the actors play their own instruments live, and the sound they create is electric. Songs like Gold and When Your Mind's Made Up will stir something in you and if you've heard Falling Slowly before (if you haven't, shame on you, it's an Oscar winner!) hearing it live will make you want to cry.
Guy and Girl are currently being played by David Hunter and Jill Winternitz whose gorgeous voices, and gorgeous chemistry are a treat to behold.
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