Spring Awakening

Spring Awakeninghas all the disparate parts of a gawky adolescent. This enraged and piteous monster is stitched together from Frank Wedekind’s play of 1891 and with C21st folk-rock score. It is costumed for the C19th yet actors use hand microphones as props. Despite the anachronisms, this show still has something significant to communicate. Adults are still failing their children. What was once a failure to inform the young, continues to be a failure to protect. Childhood is frequently sacrificed to sexualised media and education still perpetuates the demands of the economy. Young people are driven to strike for Climate Change action and gun control. Spring Awakening is still “a children’s tragedy”.

Finn Carter and Jack Lark are extraordinary new directors. There are many excellent vocal performances and the ensemble is powerful. This is no more evident than in All that’s Known. Over an ostinato of chanted Latin, the received wisdom of the age is questioned. Of the many memorable songs, most of which portray emotion rather than advance the narrative, Totally F@#ked is a show stopper. Brandon Chilcott awes with control over a wide range of colours. Jazmin Garrard is mesmerising. Sam Apted balances a quirky character with heavy vocal work. A tendency to sing with American inflection jars against the spoken dialogue with some accents neutral, some broadly Australian and some are stereotypically German. It is never quite clear where the comedy sits but Samantha Sangston and Rowan Harris create numerous differentiated adult roles and Kip Phillips handles the toilet scene with aplomb.

The band is excellent with strings providing interesting timbres. The space is used well, the set evoking the school room/display cabinet, made versatile through lighting.

This is not a typical Summer School Production. Whilst confronting it is never offensive.

Anne Blythe-Cooper