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Streets! A New Kind Of Musical
Cockpit Theatre
Reviewed on Friday 5th April 2013 (Press Night)
Streets is a new, bold and diverse musical which gets right up in your face and makes a strong point which needs to be heard. The show "puts a microscope on a a group of friends growing up on London's streets" with particular reference to what went on during the 2011 London riots. I have never seen anything like it before in my life.
The Cockpit Theatre is the perfect venue for this ground-breaking show. Before entering the performance space some of the cast hover around the bar area which made me feel a little tense and slightly on edge before the performance had even begun. Adam 'Bo' Boland's direction is absolutely mind blowing, the staging is visually incredible. Rachel Dingle's simplistic set design is also clever, the extensive presence of boxes is a constant reminder of all that went on during the London riots.
Unlike a 'traditional' musical the performers simply act and dance while two vocalists are positioned at one side of the stage along with a band and a beatboxer, making the show feel even more fresh and relevant. Leigh Mulpeter's lighting design looked particularly stunning during the musical numbers. Like the set design it was simplistic but complemented the piece perfectly.
The storyline is intense, however after a while I felt something was missing, although I could not put my finger on it... that was until Tori Allen-Martin started singing. She sings with such depth and detail expressing every single lyric from deep within. This is what sometimes lacked in a few of the actors' performances, they were saying the lines but they didn't always convince me, sometimes their eyes showed no emotion. Perhaps they could get away with this in a large West End theatre but in a smaller, more intimate venue such as The Cockpit there is nowhere to hide. I would have loved more musical numbers as the band sounded great and Finn Anderson's original score is enchanting. The script, which has recently been re-written, is mostly good although sometimes seemed to go round in circles which lost the intensity in places.
Kamilah Beckles and Ryan-Lee Seager's choreography is slick and eye catching, making Streets even more appealing to the younger generation. The final ten minutes are unbelievably intense, hard-hitting and manic. I could not believe how much was going on, I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat with my mouth wide open and therefore it was no surprise that some audience members shot to their feet the second the show ended.
If you want to see a new, thought provoking piece of theatre you must see Streets. The show is cutting-edge and bound to leave a big impression on you.
Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Streets! A New Kind Of Musical runs at the Cockpit Theatre until 21st April 2013.
Please visit www.streetsproject.co.uk for further information and to book tickets.
Photo Credit: Darren Bell
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