53two, Manchester – until 23rd December 2023
Reviewed by Matthew North
4****
Full disclosure – I’m an absolute sucker for some festive schmaltz. Make this chap a bit misty eyed as he’s sipping a mulled wine with some Christmas cheer and a tug on the old heartstrings, and he’s yours. So… Bear Left? An absolute winner of a seasonal show as far as I’m concerned.
Yes, maybe the schmaltzy Hallmark factor goes a little bit too far at times and things tie up in a way that made even this Christmas lover do a slight eye roll – but the heart is there, the joy is there and above all, it’s just impossible to not leave this show a little warmer on the inside than when you went in.
Musically, Ollie Mills’ new score has more than a subtle hint of Pasek and Paul infused with Jason Robert Brown – so naturally we can expect tunes that just feel like a massive cuddle and know exactly how to toy with your emotions – and that certainly isn’t a bad thing; though perhaps as lovely as the score is, a more solid identity in it’s sound and style would elevate it even further. Mills is clearly quite the talent, and I’d love to understand more of what their sound is and what they have to say.
Combining the work of four different book writers, plus Mills’ new score, whilst maintaining a throughline and overarching style is no mean feat – and Simon Naylor’s production excels in pulling the different features together and it really does bring the very best out of a uniformly excellent cast. Not only is it a joy to see a company have such a wonderful time together on stage but what a treat it is to marvel at a cast of that size. The sound they make together as a unit is just glorious and really brings that goosebumps wall of sound energy that caused me to have a couple of the aforementioned misty eyed moments.
Seeing 53two, a venue I’ve admired from a distance for a while now, in full flow and with such a beautifully realized production is the real takeaway from this all round lovely evening at the theatre. In some ways they’ve really pushed the boat out, and in others they’ve really pulled it back into shore – and that makes for a near perfectly balanced evening. I wouldn’t call the show a fully finished article quite yet but it has so much potential.
…but would I watch it again? Yep. Tomorrow. Happily.