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Aldwych WC2B 4LD
Map ©Silvermaze Ltd
2008
Photo ©Tony Reading
2008
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Local Info Top Class restaurants nearby; Laureate (Chinese) 64 Shaftesbury Avenue 020 7437 5088 Mint Leaf (Indian) Suffolk Place 020 7930 9020 Tiger Tiger (European) 29 Haymarket 020 7930 1885 |
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A note from the author We put this AVMovie together (a compilation of still photos and video clips) to show off London theatres as they are seen most often by theatre goers – by night. Thanks to Ben Shafik for his lighthearted and informative commentary and Fionn O'Lochlainn for the original music. Watch out for the new version with current liveries and the names of the theatres as they appear. Baxter |
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The German Playwright Frank Wedekind called his play The Awakening of Spring a tragedy of childhood. It was an indictment of the hypocrisy of ill educated adults of his time steeped in the false morality of its church of the era. New dogmas & protocols reeking of blame and heartless in their purpose, were heaped upon the original pristine doctrine of Christ. The mode at the time was vitriolic against any perceived opponents of the supreme authority that the church wielded over its flock. Widekind saw the effects of this on education and most of all on children.
"Frank Wedekind a sensitive soul, deeply stirred by the heart- rending tragedies about him. Stirred and grieved especially by the misery and torture of the child,- the helpless victim unable to explain the forces germinating in its nature, often crushed and destroyed by mock modesty, sham decencies, and the complacent morality that greet its blind gropings".- Emma Goldman, The Social Significance of the Modern Drama
The play pulled no punches and left nothing out - covering abortion, rape, school homosexuality, masturbation, parenthood, manslaughter, suicide and the agony of expulsion from the herd. It was a savage and shocking attack on the society led by the church. It was protected from annihilation– being an art form, but silenced for 74 years until it emerged on the British stage.
Spring Awakening now returns as a musical presentation with a talented young cast and a clever score. Simon Hale's orchestrations too, won it many awards, this is a play fascinating for historians of only a 3 or so generations ago.
The audience is rapidly growing as people flock to see it and come away maybe marveling at the palpable changes since the play was written. Songs are a powerful way to get a point of tenderness over.
The story
Teenage children of the era discover their own sexuality out of context with the dark mystery surrounding the facts of life. Failing to see it as sin , they experiment with sex. This angers and shames the adults who have so brushed it under the carpet that they didn't mention it at all - let alone as a sin. The children naturally feel devoid of a "proper appreciation of mankind's innate sense of shame" yet they are sacrificed to pay the price of the cruel, unfeeling outrage of the adults. Their emergence from childhood to adolescence therefore has tragic consequences. The music softens last century's out of date bitter darkness on sex and also renders this tragedy all the more poignant.
Cast
• Aneurin Barnard – Melchior
• Lucy Barker – Ilse
• Natasha Barnes – Anna
• Chris Barton – Swing
• Jamie Blackley – Hanschen
• Hayley Gallivan – Martha
• Natalie Garner – Swing
• Mona Goodwin – Swing
• Evelyn Hoskins – Thea
• Edd Judge – Otto
• Harry McEntire – Ernst
• Jamie Muscato – Swing
• Gemma O’Duffy – Swing
• Iwan Rheon – Moritz
• Jos Slovick – Georg
• Richard Southgate – Swing
• Charlotte Wakefield – Wendla
• Richard Cordery - Adult Men
• Sian Thomas - Adult Women
• Music and Orchestrations - Duncan Sheik
• String and Additional Orchestrations - Simon Hale
• Sound Designer - Brian Ronan
• Musical Supervisor - Kimberly Grigsby
• Lyrics & Book - Steven Sater
• Director - Michael Mayer
• Choreographer - Bill T Jones
• Set Designer - Christine Jones
• Costume Designer - Susan Hilferty
• Lighting Designer - Kevin Adams
| © Covent-Garden.co.uk 2009 | Updated 4th Aug 2009 |