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A CurtainUp London London Review
Once


I'm always serious. I'm Czech.— Girl
Once
Declan Bennett as the Guy (Photo: Manuel Harlan)
Once comes into London with a glittering list of Broadway awards and high expectations. On the night I saw it, I was underwhelmed. Now Second Press Night can be an issue after the partying of the night before but there are other causes for concern. The Phoenix has over 1000 seats and certainly it was hard for the ensemble cast to achieve an intimacy in a theatre with lots of empty seats. Without the connection with the audience, it is an uphill task for the musically talented ensemble cast.

Before the show, as in New York, there is a "spontaneous" ceilidh with the entire cast joining in on their instruments. Members of the audience nervously ventured onto the stage to buy a drink and mingle with the cast.

John Tiffany's direction is of course delightful with idiosyncratic movement from Steve Hoggett synchronising the cast in unexpected ways. The two leads in London are Declan Bennett as the Guy and Zrinka Cvitesic as the Girl. He plays the guitar, she the piano. Cvitesic has a natural charm but Declan Bennett's performance is so full of melancholy.

The songs are gentle but a tad similar, all building to a loud crescendo, so the effect is rather samey, rather than invigorating and not varied enough to sustain more than two and a half hours of show time. The Oscar winning song "Falling Slowly" is pretty but sung as the second number in the show.

Bob Crowley's Dublin bar set with its de-silvered mirrors and black and white photographs and Natasha Katz's lighting add atmosphere. There were fans of the movie in the audience, already won over to the charm of the piece but precious few new converts.

For Curtainup's reviews in New York and song list go here go here.

Once based on the motion picture of the same name
Book by Enda Walsh
Music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Directed by Jon Tiffany
Movement by Steven Hoggett
London Cast: Declan Bennett, Zrinka Cvitesic, Valda Aviks, Ryan Fletcher, Aidan Kelly, Gareth O'Connor, Michael O'Conner, Miria Parvin, Jos slovick, Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Jez Unwin, Gabriel Vick, Poppy-Lily Baker/Mia Jai Bryan/Pacha Ann Green, Nancy Ann Jeans
Booking to 30th November 2013
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 10th April 2013 performance at the Phoenix Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0JP (Tube: Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square)
London Theatre Walks


Peter Ackroyd's  History of London: The Biography



London Sketchbook



Stories from shakespeare
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
Click image to buy.
Our Review


©Copyright 2013, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com