Book: Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Director: Nikolai Foster
Whatever you think of Nikolai Foster, no one could accuse him of being bound by tradition. For the Curve Christmas production two years ago, he gave us a wonderfully different take on Evita, then his interpretation of My Fair Lady last year, and this time round, he has decided to put his stamp on The Sound of Music. It will almost certainly divide opinion when you tweak such a well-loved favourite, but here we are with something that’s refreshingly different while remaining faithful to the stage musical.
And it’s outstanding.
Right from early on, you can feel this is going to be different. After the opening chorus from the nuns, the show cloth rises and the set is revealed – and what a set it is, beautifully designed by Michael Taylor. Using the entire width of the Curve’s massive stage, it’s a vast expanse of hillside with fences, with paths and rocks to climb down, and the cast make full use of them throughout the show. This isn’t the lush green hill you see Julie Andrews on in the movie, but a wild, craggy place, evoking the threat that looms over the country. The villa interior is a wonderful spiral staircase, the abbey is a huge window, and it’s all slick and very impressive.
Then we meet Maria, and it’s another triumph for Molly Lynch. Appearing at the top of the hillside, she launches straight into the title number, and it’s the first of many beautifully-delivered pieces. Lynch’s Maria is a down-to-earth, cheerful girl, full of joy and life, with a well-judged sense of confusion about her feelings and which direction would give her the most happiness in her life, then showing a steely determination and fierce loyalty once her decision is made. She gets several numbers to deliver, and each one is excellent, with George Dyer’s bright and lilting new musical arrangements adding their own touch to proceedings, bringing a different feel to almost every number in the show.
David Seadon-Young’s Captain von Trapp is suitably stiff and uptight, softening gradually as the first half progresses and he acknowledges his true feelings. There’s a nice feeling of chemistry between his Captain and Lynch’s Maria, though the Lindsay and Crouse book does have a slightly bizarre moment when he declares his love. He doesn’t get a lot to sing, but when he does, he is in good voice with a beautiful Edelweiss. Faye Brookes gives us a delightful Baroness – she’s the sort of woman you can’t imagine anyone wanting to live with, deliciously excessive.
Minal Patel is a nicely humorous Max, wavering about where he stands before deciding to do the right thing at the end, regardless of the consequences for him personally. Rachel Izen is putting a very distinctive stamp on her role as Frau Schmidt. Joanna Riding is a warm and caring Mother Abbess, with a beautiful Climb Ev’ry Mountain wrapping up the first half, and Christian Cooper is a sneeringly arrogant Rolf, softening only when he’s with Liesl (Aviva Tulley), with some nice vocal work between the two.
Then there’s the children – three teams alternating the roles. On for press night were Leo Hollingsworth (Friedrich), Matilda Hennessy (Louisa), Theodore Traat (Kurt), Isla Granville (Brigitta), Georgia Riga (Marta) and Mimi-Kimara Clarson (Gretl), and they are, as you’d expect, a delight. Boisterous and playful once out of their shells, they create some lovely harmonies and are a credit to the production – though whichever team you see, they will undoubtedly shine as much as these young people.
This production marks the 60th anniversary of the classic Julie Andrews film, and it’s looked at it from a modern perspective. It involves the community as well as professional actors, resulting in a massive acting company of nearly 60 people, including the three teams of children, plus two different community ensembles supplementing the professional cast.
The whole tone of the production reflects this sense of unease, a veneer of normality hiding an ever-increasing threat. There’s some serious political messages behind the show – when it first appeared, it was only 14 years after the end of the Second World War, and memories were still pretty fresh. Behind Climb Ev’ry Mountain a row of Nazis appear on the skyline. A snippet of Hitler’s speeches rumbles over proceedings as things deteriorate. “There are things that happen today to a man like that”, says Rolf, reminding us that these political views didn’t disappear in 1945. It’s set in dark times, yet the menace is tempered by some lovely bits of humour. Alongside the almost menacing tone of the ensemble movement, Ebony Molina brings a beautifully childlike joy to the children’s choreography. Then we have the wonderful trio of Leonie Spilsbury (Sister Bertha), Megan Ellis (Sister Sophia) and Keanna Bloomfield (Sister Margaretta) giving us as funny a Maria as you could hope to find.
It’s fresh, it’s different, and it’s superb.
Runs until 17 January 2026
