Edinburgh Fringe
Paradise at Augustine’s – Reviewed 2 August, Playing until 10 August
Reviewed by Manetta McIntosh
5*****
Scarily Good
If you are a fan of musicals and can’t choose between the 20 or so on offer at the Fringe, look no further. The Addams Family is, by far, one of the best musicals I have seen, and this production was star quality. When you see it you will wonder why you are not watching this at one of the main theatre’s, however, part of the charm of the Festival is the quirky venues that host the shows and Paradise at Augustine’s is perfect for this creepy family as it is a church.
This musical is based on Charles Addams’ characters about a ‘fairly’ dysfunctional family who are trying to come to terms with their daughter wanting something different to the family norm. The story challenges relationships and family values and you don’t have to talk to your dead relatives to relate to it. Despite this family being together for a veryyyyyy long time, this show takes on inter-dimensional relationships and how one person’s journey impacts on everyone else.
The acting and singing was superb and the delivery was spot on. I was laughing from start to finish with a little bit of ‘the feels’ in the middle. Michael Davies who played Gomez and Rebecca Drever who played Wednesday had the lion’s share of the songs and they had me captivated. I could see Rebecca playing the part of Elphaba in Wicked and not because it’s another ‘dark’ character but her voice would be perfect to sing Gravity.
The chemistry between Gomez and Morticia (Jo Heinemeier) translated on stage, you believed they were a couple who were conflicted with this discovery about their relationship that they thought was so solid. Morticia appeared as if she was floating around the stage, there was no theatrical trickery, smoke covering her feet etc, but she just seemed…to float. And, although it may only have got a ‘seveeeeen’ in a popular dance show, their Tango was delightfully amusing.
We were not privy to the build up of the relationship between Wednesday and Lucas (Andrew Hornyak) we meet them as they decide they want to get engaged. Their story highlighted that whilst there may be obvious differences on the outside, we all want the same things for our kids at the core, to be safe and happy. Julia Weingaertner and Benji Sumrie who played Lucas’ parents portrayed the perfect couple who really were not that perfect at all, but Granma’s hooch sorted their relationship out.
Other cast members who particularly stood out were Fester (Andrew Gardiner) and Grandma (Caitlin Davis), their characters really ‘came to life’, pun intended. Grandma wetting herself after a bit of mid-dinner exertion and Fester singing to the moon were most memorable. Lurch’s (Cameron Kirby) comedy untiming was perfect and the Ancestors where key in many aspects of the scenes without having a main speaking part, seeing a dead person do a one-handed cartwheel was quite impressive.
The musical numbers perfectly punctuated the story and the choreography was spot on, but what amazed me the most was how perfect the voices complimented each other when all singing together. Considering the venue the sound and lighting were all exceptional, I cannot rate this production enough.