Antigone 1989: A Town Hall Musical music review – A cracking set of songs
There’s a lot of potential in this socially germane musical discussing the Aids crisis
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This new musical theatre update of Sophocles’ tragic tale comes wrapped in a neat set-up: The Oracle (beautifully sung by Helena Padial) has called us to the town hall to make a decision. Will we use our one precious voice for good, or choose to stay quiet? Set against the background of the Aids crisis and with a new dictator in charge, it’s impossible to ignore the parallels with today’s world (maybe that explains our enduring fascination with the Greek tragedies).
Some clunky spoken lines mean the cast sometimes struggle to land the emotion, but there’s tons going for this show, not least the faultless singing and a cracking set of songs that (for once) do exactly what they’re supposed to do: move the action, build emotion and make us feel our feels faster and deeper than words alone can do. The musical skills on display are exciting and make this definitely worth catching for fans of the genre.
Antigone 1989: A Town Hall Musical, Gilded Balloon Patter House, until 29 August, 3.05pm.