Southwark Playhouse – livestream 8 – 9 May
5*****
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
Sitting in the auditorium watching Southwark Playhouse’s production of Preludes in 2019 was a mind-blowing experience, with the set design playing a huge part in immersing the audience in the tormented mind of Sergei Rachmaninoff. This concert version, directed by Alex Sutton and livestreamed from Southwark Playhouse is a stripped back production that still packs a disturbing punch, with the close camera work creating a more intimate and intense connection with the characters.
Described as a musical fantasia set in the hypnotised mind of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Dave Malloy’s musical imagines the events of the three years following the shock when his first symphony failed to set the musical world alight and Rachmaninoff spiralled into depression, unable to compose until his therapy with Nicolai Dahl, following which his glorious Piano Concerto no.2 was completed.
As wild-eyed Rach, tortured by his feelings of failure and struggling to find music or joy in his life, Keith Ramsey is simply superb, staring into the camera and skewering your soul. His sessions with Dahl (the wonderful Rebecca Caine) guide him through his memories and traumas as they work to find a form of peace. Watching over this is Rachmaninoff (Tom Noyes) expertly playing the grand piano and maintaining a calm and composed persona in contrast to Rach’s erratic behaviour. Natalya (Georgia Louise), his fiancée/cousin, and Chaliapin (Norton James), his opera singer friend and constant supporter are shown to be present at pivotal moments in Rach’s composing career through flashbacks/therapy, alongside The Master (Steven Serlin), who takes on the personas of Rach’s (and Russia’s) heroes, always disappointing Rach, and never giving him the affirmation he so desperately needs.
Sound designer Andrew Johnson and musical director Jordan Li-Smith weave magic with Malloy’s score – Rachmaninoff’s music is performed as solos by Noyes on the piano, but also overlain with electronic keys and electro beats depending on Rach’s mental state. Some of the arrangements are beautiful, making your heart soar, while others set your teeth on edge and are very uncomfortable to listen to, with Andrew Exeter’s lighting design adding to the sometimes surreal energy.
The cast give incredible performances, from Georgia Louise’s astonishingly raw delivery of Natalya, Norton James’s unforgettable insane delivery Loop to the hauntingly beautiful duets of Georgia Louise and Keith Ramsey. Malloy’s mixture of his own and classical compositions is unique and enthralling, plummeting from ecstatic highs to devastating lows as Rach explores his feelings, and the audience is swept along on this exhausting journey, but the ride is exhilarating and rewarding – and much more personal in this format. A stunning show.