The Week on Stage: From South Pacific to Monster

On stage this week, we were transported back to mid-Noughties Glasgow in Monster at Park Theatre.

At Sadler’s Wells, a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1949 musical South Pacific finally arrived in London after debuting in Chichester last year.

Check back next week when we’ll be reporting live from the Edinburgh Fringe with reviews from the excellent Fergus Morgan.

South Pacific – Sadler’s Wells ★★★★☆

Set on a military island community in the South Pacific in the 1940s, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical revolves around the romance between Emile de Becque (Julian Ovenden), a French plantation owner, and all-American navy nurse Nellie Forbush (Gina Beck). Their love seems unstoppable, with soaring songs such as “Some Enchanted Evening” cementing their affections. It’s an uplifting and sweet time – that is, until Nellie learns about her future husband’s half-Polynesian children from a former marriage and suddenly decides they’re no longer right for each other.

When South Pacific debuted in 1949, it was radical in its exploration of interracial marriage and the idea that people’s prejudices are a result of nurture, rather than nature. As Emile, Ovenden gives one of the best vocal performances to hit a London stage in years, while Beck’s operatic skills and an energetic ensemble cast breathe new life into standards such as “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair”. But for all the good this play does in delivering a timeless anti-racist message, some prevailing stereotypes and the sidelining of Asian characters, native to the show’s setting, feel inherently uncomfortable.

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South Pacific is an imperfect musical, and anyone watching in 2022 would be justified to dismiss it for the ways it falls short. But if there’s any argument for keeping the show alive, this version makes the most compelling case.

Monster – Park Theatre ★★☆☆☆

Abigail Hood’s Monster feels like a tick-box exercise in trauma. As the action plays out in a Glasgow “wasteland” circa 2006, child sexual abuse, alcoholism and murder swirl on the stage. It’s unrelentingly bleak and moving to watch, yet you’ll struggle to find a point among the capital I “issues”.

The concrete blocks and derelict pipes before us are a playground for troubled teens Kayleigh (Hood) and Zoe (Caitlin Fielding, a standout). The bond between the girls – part friendship, part romance – appears unbreakably strong, but Kayleigh is volatile and full of rage. At times, Zoe reveres her. In others, she looks at her in fear.

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The picture painted of working-class Scotland feels rooted in lazy stereotypes. Accents are inconsistent as standard – some so bad the Glasgow native in the audience next to me visibly winced. Still, you don’t need a rich understanding of regional Scottish accents to cringe at dialogue such as: “You must be freezing.” “Nah, got Irn-Bru running through ma veins.”

While Hood’s script is well-paced, it leans heavily on exposition and is both implausible and predictable. As soon as the girls’ teacher Rebecca (Emma Keele) arrives on stage, clutching her pregnant belly, it’s clear this child will play a part in Kayleigh’s downfall (call it Chekhov’s comically large baby bump). The second act is less heavily traumatic – thank God – but it only adds to the tonal jumble that is Monster.