Fiddler On The Roof

Wonder of Wonder, Miracle of Miracles is a line from one of the songs in the iconic musical Fiddler On The Roof. It could also be the logline for this stunning production by MDMS.  Set in the Jewish village of Anatevka in Russia during the time of the pogroms, this much loved show encapsulates the bigger questions of anti-semitism, persecution and the struggle to survive, told through one man and his family. It takes a brave and wildly talented director to strip back a show like this, from multiple sets to a stage dressed with dying birch trees and a sky – day and night, with just a few abstract rooflines when needed. Fortunately Paul Watson is such a director, and his vision for the show is brilliant on every level. Gone is the overt “Yiddish” gesturing and dialect. We know these people are Jews, so Watson treats his audience as intelligent theatre-goers and gives us a Tevye who is everyman – and every girl’s father. And what a Tevye this is!

Adrian Carr is superb as the simple, God-loving, slightly henpecked father of five daughters, struggling to keep a grasp on the traditions which are slowly slipping away from him. Avid theatre goers know him as a fine comic actor, but here he digs deep and gives us a moving and truthful portrait of a man doing the best he can, even when he knows it’s not good enough. His voice is mellifluous, his storytelling is wry and poignant and, above all, we can feel the honesty of the character whenever he is on stage, and that’s most of the show. It’s only a little thing, but in the wedding scene, when everyone dances in a way they have never done before, only Mr Carr’s Tevye shows childhood delight and confusion, as if he has no idea which step is coming next but he’s willing to embrace it. It’s a lovely moment. He reduced me to tears singing “Little Bird” in the Chava Ballet. I have seen four different Tevye’s, including the great Topol. Not one of them has bettered Carr’s rich and multi-layered performance.

Victoria Zainal is a worthy Golde to Carr’s Tevye. She is warm and “zoftig” and rules Tevye without the usual shouting. She snores like a pig divinely in the dream sequence and is suitably excited as a mother looking to find the right husbands for her daughters. Once again, she gives us a warmth and a genuine affection that is often missing in the character.

There is wonderful support from a great cast including Adrienne George (Tzeitel) Matt Skinner (Motel), Bethany Louise (Hodel)  Matt Jakowenko (Fyedka) and two old stalwarts who help ground the show in Peter Noble (Lazar Wolf) and Will Deumer (Mordcha). Then there is the enchanting presence of Nadia Gianinotti as The Fiddler, a less tangible, more etheric presence than we’re used to – Tevye’s silver cord connection to life. Ryan Jacobs does a great job with the band and the incomparable Jason Bovaird, together with Michael Brasser, gives a lighting plot to die for. Kaela Brushett proves that it possible to approximate Jerome Robbins original choreography even with non-dancers, if you are skilled enough.

But the show belongs to Carr and, more importantly, to Watson. I suspect the stark set design of elegant simplicity and poverty is his vision. Certainly the decision to make “Anatevka” an ‘a capella’ song is his, and the orchestra members hum their instrument parts, so all we hear are voices in a prayer-like offering of heart-stopping pathos. It’s a bold move in a bold production that somehow maintains subtlety and an exquisite delicate sense of love amidst the turmoil. I defy anyone not to fall in love with this show. But hurry, the run is limited, which is a pity. It deserves to be seen by musical lovers everywhere.

Coral Drouyn