Book: John Logan
Director: Alex Timbers
From Paris to Edinburgh, via Australia, Hollywood, Broadway and the West End, the first international touring production of the musical based on Baz Luhrmann’s movie has been on a long journey and is a truly cosmopolitan affair with a cast and production company from across the globe. The official opening night of the worldwide tour in Edinburgh showed why there is such a demand from audiences for the story and the music.
The Playhouse is transformed into the iconic venue of the title for the opening thanks to the scenic design of Derek McLane and Justin Townsend’s lighting design. The stage is bathed in a warm red light, heart shaped arches and the letters Moulin Rouge emblazoned in white lights. Even the royal boxes are brought in on the act as a windmill fills one and a large blue elephant looks down from the other. It creates a sumptuous set for the opening number, introducing the place that is at the heart of the story.
The story itself is a combination of pantomime and classic pop star movie storyline, as Cameron Blakely, the owner of the venue, tries to save it from closure by getting his lead performer, Satine, to fall in love with the incredibly wealthy Duke who he hopes will then give him the money to keep the venue alive. Of course, things are never going to go smoothly, as in another part of Paris, Toulouse-Lautrec and his Argentine collaborator Santiago enlist the help of Christian, a talented actor with a way with words, to write the musical that may give them their big break, if only they can convince Satine to be in it and for it to premiere at Moulin Rouge.
As the first act develops, the setting effortlessly shifts from inside the venue to a rooftop overlooking the city in one of its less salubrious parts. The contrast between what Christian and the Duke have to offer Satine could not be clearer both from the surroundings and the book by John Logan. Double entendres and mistaken identity work to add comedy to the story, while the battle between music and money rages on just underneath the surface.
The second act moves much of the action to the backstage, and as the story takes darker turns, so to does the set with much of the glamour, colour and scale being stripped back to let the story, character and songs take the focus.
The weakest element of the show is actually the music. As a predominantly jukebox musical with song selections that criss-cross eras and frequently uses only a few lines of one song before shifting into another, it is a bit of a mixed bag. At times Justine Levine’s arrangements work to superb effect, with inspired mash-ups and reinventions of classics, most notably in Crazy Rolling’s reimagining of Gnarles Barkely’s Crazy and Adele’s Rolling in the Deep, but at other times, the frequent shift in styles and sources means that it lacks some of the cohesion of musicals that have either an original score or draw entirely on one artists work.
That said, it is impossible to find fault in any of the performances. Verity Thompson as Satine has the air of someone who knows that the livelihood of the venue and those who work there are reliant on her, even as her own desire would lead her in a different direction. As Christian, Nate Landskroner is the romantic, talented idealist who shows the beauty of Bohemia, while Kurt Kansley as Lautrec and Johnny Galeandro as Santiago offer the less aesthetically pleasing take on it but do it with a commitment and passion that combines with humour to make them a perfect contrast to the shallow world of the Duke.
James Bryers, playing the Duke, moves from being little more than a fop to a malevolent and dark force, the transformation made more effective by it always staying on the right side of pantomime villain territory. Harold Zidler as Blakely combines cunning with compassion, as his honourable motives of saving the venue he has created provides some excuse for his initial plans for achieving his goal.
As a show that runs for almost three hours, including interval, the pace never drops and it never feels like its outstaying its welcome. The story is substantial enough to be far more than an excuse to stick some songs together, and the lighting, staging, Sonya Tayah’s choreography and Alex Timbers direction all serve to make it a visual spectacular that more than compensates for any limitations caused by the lack of original songs.
Runs until 14 June 2025 | Image: Johan Persson
