Review: A Celebration Of Music And Friendship, THE CHOIR OF MAN Invites The Audience To Share A Beer Whilst Exploring Men's Mental Health & Community Connection

Thursday 21st March 2019, 7pm, The Studio, Sydney Opera House

Following on from successful Adelaide and Edinburgh Fringe Festival seasons, THE CHOIR OF MAN invites Sydney audiences to join them in a quintessential English Pub for a night of merriment, music and healthy modern masculinity. The latest musical theatre/cabaret show from Nic Doodson (Producer and Director) and Andrew Kay (Producer) who also produced The Magnets, addresses the need for community, communication, and camaraderie in a world where the spaces that we went to for these things are being torn down for commercial gain.

The 9 men from the UK invite the audience in share just over an hour with them in their expression of a classic English Pub, the fictional "Jungle". The eclectic assortment of multi-talented men share songs, stories and some impressive moves along with the odd pint or two of beer (free if you are lucky) as they highlight the dying pub culture, the importance of friendships and the benefits of communicating. Narrator George Bray leads THE CHOIR OF MAN 2.0 Cast (the Australian Tour) as he introduces the characters that include the Hardman (Luke Johnson), the Pianoman (Ali Higgins), the Joker (James Hudson), the Casanova (Sean Keany), the Barman (Josh Smith), The "Beast" (Christopher Norton), the Pub Bore (Richard Lock), and the Tapper (Alastair Crosswell).

The Narrator's introductions, observations and opinions of the pub's regulars and the world around him is presented with a conversational ease as Bray gives Ben Norris' poetry a delightful subtlety and naturalism so that often you don't even realize you are listening to poetry. Higgins' piano is brilliant as he shifts from classical to pop whilst still staying in the character of a virtuoso who in not playing in concert halls on account of his penchant for a pint or two. Lock's brilliant bass booms out beneath the rest of the choir and his rendition of Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion's The Impossible Dream is wonderful to listen to. Keany has an amazing falsetto range and his interpretation of Adele's Hello is haunting in its stillness, played up by the rest of the ensemble with a surreal slow motion in muted blue shadows. Smith's Escape (The Pina Colada Song) is fun whilst his version of Queen's Somebody To Love is phenomenal in his breath control and range. Crosswell's tap dancing is frenetic during the rendition of Paul Simon's 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and Bray's Dance With My Father (Luther Vandross) is poignant and textured. Norton's Teenage Dream was made exceptionally amusing on opening night with a lucky selection of a more than willing participant for him serenade. Whilst Higgins and Norton provide live music, and other performers provide additional live music that ranges from trumpet, violin and banjo to cajon drum box and percussive pint 'glasses', a great deal of the music is prerecorded which does dampen the effect at times, particularly when their message is about live performance and the sustainability of the 'old world' venues unencumbered by the fancy accoutrements of new 'hip' watering holes.

The production, whilst carefully coordinated, manages to leave an air of naturalism and truth about the stories and staging. THE CHOIR OF MAN is a jukebox musical of sorts that sits between traditional musical theatre and cabaret in its inclusion of a liberal degree of audience engagement and apparent vulnerability in the stories told. The work is relatable on several levels, making is much more than just an evening of beautifully presented songs. The narrator's comments on the closing of venues resonates for Sydney audience and his arguments for their preservation all rings true. The presentation of good honest men is also topical given the rise in awareness of toxic masculinity and one hopes that the characters portrayed actually do exist somewhere in the world and they aren't just part of a Utopian dream. For some Australian audiences the idea of an English local pub may be the stuff of television and cinema but for others, THE CHOIR OF MAN's invitation to enter "The Jungle" sparks memories and it is nice to revisit the concept of a gathering of all walks of life at a local pub to share stories, songs, laughter, joy and support.

An easy and entertaining night of incredible voices, energetic physicality and comic camaraderie, THE CHOIR OF MAN is a great night out for all whilst also holding important underlying messages about the need for communication, that it is ok to be vulnerable, and that there are good men out there somewhere.

THE CHOIR OF MAN

https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/events/whats-on/cabaret/2019/the-choir-of-man.html

Photos: Jordan Munn

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