20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. To 29 June.

London

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA
by Jules Verne, adapted by Patrick Prior

Theatre Royal Stratford East To 29 June 2002
Runs 2hrs One interval

TICKETS 0208 534 0310
Review Ian Willox 9 June

A new adaptation plunges the depths.As the Theatre Royal's opulent red interior fills with excited adults and children (not so common a sight among blasé central London audiences) the prospects look rosy. This is the theatre that created The Invisible Man, (a successful West End transfer) Jules Verne’s take on a submarine future, over a hundred years old, is a rollicking adventure story that has inspired many adaptations – some of them rather good. Captain Nemo is played by Michael N. Harbour, star of The Invisible Man. So when Ned (Steve Toussaint) bounds onto the stage to launch the show, expectations are high. If only they were met.

Toussaint instantly convinces as the harpoon-wielding sea dog. Michael Bertenshaw (another Theatre Royal regular) makes a nice Professor Arronax and his manservant, Dimsworth (Adam G Goodwin) handles the comic business well.

We're swiftly kidnapped aboard the submarine Nautilus (a lovely piece of design), in the hands of the mysterious Captain Nemo, a pacifist hell bent on world domination. Here, he looks not unlike Van Morrison (or Boss Hogg, for younger readers). Which is perhaps why we expect a musical. But this is melodrama played for comedy. And there are no songs.

As we romp around the world searching for the crystals necessary to build Professor Arronax’s Solar Gun, with which Nemo will hold the world to ransom, the production works harder and harder – a vengeful squid bigger than the stage, an arctic shark with a taste for aristocratic ankles, a penguin in hallucinatory plumage – and the laughs get fewer and fewer.

It may be the casting: the women (with the notable exception of Karen Tomlin as Nemo’s bodyguard) are weak. It may be the writing: having one of the women squeal, “It’s like being in a terrible melodrama” was an unwise prompt to a restless audience. It may be the direction: to wring so little tension and excitement from this material takes ability.

Nevertheless Nemo, Ned, Professor Arronax and his manservant Dimsworth all work hard to entertain. But the show that starts with a gasp of excitement somehow manages to end with a yawn.

Ned: Steve Toussaint
Professor Arronax: Michael Bertenshaw
Dimsworth: Adam G Goodwin
Lady Snide-Worthington: Sarah Crowden
Joanna: Natasha Lewis
Moll: Karen Tomalin
Captain Nemo: Michael N Harbour
All other parts: Darren Hart, Richard Chinn

Director: Kerry Michael
Designer: Nick Barnes
Lighting: Paul Anderson
Costumes: Emily Couper
Composer/Musical Director: Robert Hyman

2002-06-12 00:24:48