Fiddler Plays My Tune

REVIEW: David Cradduck says Fiddler on the Roof at the Mayflower is simply a must-see. Tuesday 10th September, 2013. Winchester Today Home Page

There are some shows you go to see because you want to, there are some you feel you should see, a few you politely sit through but wish you were elsewhere and others you squirm through and regret wasting your time on.

Well, I have to say that Music&Lyric’s Fiddler on the Roof, at The Mayflower in Southampton and which will be touring the UK for the next few months, doesn't fit into any of these categories. 

It was absolutely stunning from start to finish and, although I wasn't sure it was going to be my cup of tea (musical shows of this kind are not normally top of my list of favourites) I was swept along by sheer professionalism, skill and entertainment at its best.

As one of Broadway’s longest running musicals, most people are familiar with many of the songs from Fiddler: 'If I were a Rich Man' has to be a catchy ditty that most people, even youngsters, will recognise. Topol made the song famous in the 1971 movie and he too became a legend. 

Likewise, those of a certain generation will remember the 70s TV cop drama series Starsky and Hutch, starring David Soul (who later became a crooning pop star) and Paul Michael Glaser. This dynamic duo, though tame by today's standards, were all American, slightly maverick, good guys who always got their man. 

Certainly not the kind of characters you would place in a Jewish settlement in a hostile Russia, you would think, but even before the cult TV series hit our screens, a then 27 year old Paul Michael Glaser had played the character of revolutionary Perchik in the same movie that Topol made his own. Not many people know that.

So what has all this to do with the present production of Fiddler, directed and choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing's Mr Bad Guy judge, Craig Revel Horwood? Well, that young Glaser, now in his late 60s, has come full circle and taken on the lead role of Tevye, the long suffering dairyman gradually coming to terms with a changing world which threatens to rob him of his daughters, his home and even his Jewish faith.

He has made the role his own, with the demeanour, singing voice and acting skills to totally convince us that he really is the man he is playing. Rarely offstage, he could make the show a one man band, he's that good (though on occasions his accent was so thick that I had trouble picking up a few words).

But to be honest, he doesn't need to. This is very much a team effort - and what a team! The cast of 19, often doubling parts, is truly amazing. Casting must have been a nightmare – where do you get such multi-talented performers? It is one thing to be able to act, sing and dance at the same time. But this is the first time I have seen a whole cast doing all three and providing all the orchestration into the bargain and on the move.

There were violins, viola, double bass, keyboards, percussion instruments galore, saxophones, trumpets, flute, guitars, clarinets and more but no sign of sheet music, conductor or other stuff you normally associate with unseen musicians in the orchestra pit. The cast sang, danced, played (sometimes swapping instruments) and acted their way through this moving, funny, poignant show without so much as a note out of place.

Occasionally the instruments looked slightly modern and incongruous and it's not everyday that you sit down to a family meal with one of the family sporting a viola - but somehow it didn't look out of place at all. All the musicians played beautifully but none more so than Jennifer Douglas as the Fiddler, whose ability to blend in with the background was matched by her amazing stage presence and almost ballet-like movements.

The lighting was superb. The sound balance was spot on (no mean feat with all those instruments playing live and moving around the stage rather than being in one spot). The set, with its centrepiece, a revolving Dickensian-looking topsy turvy house that opened up like a doll's house to reveal an equally intriguing quaint interior, was brilliant. It wouldn’t have looked out of place on the set of Oliver! – though it was instantly warm and friendly as well as being atmospheric and curious. How they pack that lot up and transport it from venue to venue I haven't a clue.

All credit must go to Craig Revel Horwood for his direction and choreography (I shall never scoff at his judgements on Strictly again, he does know what he’s talking about) who also made a brief appearance at the curtain call. Somebody should have handed him a tambourine, he was the only one not playing a musical instrument. His vision, coupled with Sarah Travis’s musical direction, ensures a very special evening out.

Fiddler on the Roof runs at The Mayflower until Saturday, when it packs up and moves on to Nottingham and a further twenty venues, finishing in April 2014. If you can get to see it, I suggest you do. More tour details at http://www.fiddlerontheroof.co.uk/#tour