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On the day of my first "Secret Garden experience" (Nov. 27th, the last Preview) my excitement about my imminent evening treat was reaching its climax. My Mum and I had already paid countless "idle" visits to the RST and shamefully bought all kind of souvenirs at the theatre shop. We had also booked for this "Backstage tour" in the early afternoon. We were expecting it to be rather Shakespeare-related, while to our huge delight we soon realised that it was actually just about the Secret Garden production !!!! We could not only already locate our promising front-row seats for the evening, but most of all explore - in the company of our knowledgeable guide - the whole backstage area, the quick-change boots, really every nook and cranny! I could walk onstage, touch the sets and every single "prop": the beds, Colin's wheelchair, the door to the Secret Garden, *Archie's stick* !!!! And what was even more thrilling, *the taking of photographs was allowed* !! You can imagine how I was frantically clicking at everything, even stuff that in the end never appeared during the show! Unfortunately I couldn't spot anyone of the actors during the tour, they were probably having their lunch break.... Actually I did cross Lucy Simon just outside the theatre (she was living in one of the little houses facing the Swan Theatre), but I thought it wiser not to be too intrusive.
But onto the show at last! As soon as we arrived at the theatre, SHUDDER ! The foyer was seething with *school children*. Panic ! I was already dreading that they would spoil the mood of the whole show. Luckily we found out that they were all sitting rather at the back, but I was still extremely nervous. God bless them all, my fears proved unfounded. As soon as the first note started, the whole auditorium went absolutely quiet and so it stayed until the very end. A real miracle!
Let's be clear from the start: the awesome score by Lucy Simon that I have always loved so much, combined with Philip Quast's well-known talent were already a guarantee for me that I would hugely enjoy the show. And I daresay that even my most positive expectations were overstepped. I agree 1000% with Carol's views in one of the previous reviews: Philip Quast IS Archie. How genuinely he portrays the character of the inconsolable and distressed widower! Embittered, but with self-restraint; kind of neglected in his looks, but never shabby. He really conveys the feeling of a distressed man who has given up the pleasure of living. Sometimes he wants to react to his brother's heartless and opportunist attitude, but he soon withdraws. His attitude towards the children is so well staged: with Mary he strives to appear as a caring uncle, but he's has somehow forgotten the right way to do so. As to Colin, he only visits him when the boy's asleep, as if he were ashamed of showing his real feelings - and reads to him lovely stories, with such a soothing voice. A scene which could make the North Pole melt down…
Philip's Archie sings at a slightly higher pitch than his previous Australian Neville. But those amazing high notes don't take anything away from the warmth and passion of his unique voice. I remember instictively taking a deep breath every time a new scene with Archie was about to start, because I already knew that I'd soon be short of oxygen... Archie's numbers are a crescendo of emotion: from 'A Girl in the Valley', where he leaves aside his stick and waltzes with Lily, to 'A Bit of Earth', where he holds those notes for ever... Not to speak of the beginning of Act Two, where the mythical 'Lily's Eyes' is now immediately followed by 'Race you to the Top of the Morning' (extremely risky combination for sensitive souls like mine!) And then the Finale, from "Where in the World" onwards: simply beyond belief. Philip's 'How Could I Ever Know', mostly sung kneeling in the middle of the stage besides Lily, who tries and calm him down holding him in her arms, was almost too much to bear… For the following five minutes I couldn't really concentrate on what was going on up there, the flood of emotions was too strong, I was shaking like a leaf and unable to breathe anymore. Simply sublime. And I surely wasn't the only one to feel completely drained, since everybody forgot to ... *clap* at the end of the number!
As expected, while praising Philip's performance I'm almost being unfair to the rest of the cast. Off we go, then. First, Neville, played by Peter Polycarpou. Poor lad, what a challenging task for him! To play a part that once belonged to his present partner onstage must have been nerve-racking! But I'm glad to say that Peter delivered a very good performance in spite of everything. Maybe, especially at the very beginning, he was IMHO "characterising" (sorry, I don't know the right English word…) his role too much. It was as if he wanted to make a statement to the audience that he was "the nasty one" (and that cartoon-esque 'Mexican' moustache didn't really help him to look convincing). In those early scenes it was almost as if Peter were performing for the children in the audience while Philip was taking care of the grown-ups… Luckily the two of them got matching much much better as the show progressed.
Now for "the kids": I was lucky enough to see the same cast that later performed at the Press Night, and I'm not surprised that they were the chosen ones, because they were stunningly talented. Natalie Morgan is a living wonder: she sings, dances and acts superbly and I did notice that there were songs and blockings that would put in trouble even an experienced grown-up performer. Luke Newberry as Colin looks exactly the way he should, so pale and frail, and he is such a good actor. The scenes where the kids quarrel or play together or throw their tantrums are terribly funny and all the children in the audience were so supportive!
As to the other main roles: Meredith Braun couldn't be a sweeter Lily. Her role is much more demanding than I expected, but she gets away with it with such elegance, she's a pleasure to watch. Linzi Hateley is another perfect choice for the role of Martha. She looks so genuine onstage that I came to the conclusion that she must have the same boisterous personality in real life too. Her interaction with the kids is amazing and her voice is so sweet, yet so strong. Her "Hold On" was pure delight. Contrary to what Carol (I think…) was pointing out, I enjoyed Craig Purnell's performance as Dickon too. He was very spontaneous, so full of energies, and again in perfect harmony with the kids. I really got the feeling that he was enjoying playing that part enormously.
Apart from the wonderful cast and the delightful sets and costumes, one thing that really struck me was the extreme refinement and perfection of the whole show, on what was just about the 15th performance. Everything went like clockwork from beginning to end. Maybe this was partly due to the fact that mine was the last preview before the Press Night, or that Lucy Simon in person was in the audience. Still, it was amazing.
Yes, Ms Simon was there. I had got in touch with her lovely daughter Julie the week before we both left for Stratford and she had indeed told me that her whole family might be attending my same show. And indeed, at the end of my "emotional ordeal", I could spot Ms Simon and her family in the foyer. I politely approached her to tell her how much I had enjoyed the show (although my still tearful eyes could hardly confirm any 'enjoyment' at all...) and she welcomed me with such warmth and friendliness, I was speechless. It was a dream come true, the dream of every musicalfan: to see a show, love it and immediately after have the opportunity to congratulate and share your delight with the very author of it. I remember telling Ms Simon that no matter what the critics would say about the show (everybody was extremely worried about the following Press-Night day), she just had to remember how *my* eyes were sparkling on that evening and she would immediately realise that her work would never be wasted.
