EDINBURGH 2010: BWW Reviews: NINE (C)

Can we make it a rule for life, please, that Nine should never be attempted by a too-young cast? These students (some still at school) are imbued with high talent - Matthew Sandy, who has an absolutely stunning voice, performs a fabulous Folies Bergeres - but gifted as they might be they simply don't yet have the world-weariness, the cynicism or the experience to pull off a tale of sex, jealousy, manipulation regret, lost love and missed opportunities like this. Generally, these actors can sing everything they're given (though there's the occasional and entirely forgiveable lack of vocal maturity) but their acting is weaker, and that's not a surprise - this is a difficult show even for pros.

David Burnett does make a likeable Guido - if he comes back to the role in 10 or 15 years' time I'll be first in the queue to see it. The passion with the various ladies in his life, though, is simply absent - understandably so, of course, these are very young people, most of whom are university students, but in which case perhaps they should have had more suitable material to enable them to showcase their performing abilities.

Nine (C -1), produced by JustJohn and Eltham College

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