Review: SPRING AWAKENING, Almeida Theatre

So many musicals wish they were as cool, progressive, provocative as Spring Awakening remains since its premiere Off-Broadway in 2006. More than 15 years later and a number of awards garnered across the world, it's still as fresh and stunning in Rupert Goold's monumental production at the Almeida. Based on a 19th Century banned German play and delicately exploring topics like sex, homosexuality, abortion, and rape in a disapproving, hyper-conservative community, Steven Sater (book and lyrics) and Duncan Sheik's (music) rock musical has become an evergreen that society as it is won't be able to surmount thematically.

While it may seem outlandish that the United States are banning safe abortion left and right, we mustn't forget that the discussions about conversion therapy are still happening in Parliament a stone's throw away from the Almeida. Therefore, a bunch of teenagers singing about sexual rebellion, lamenting that their parents haven't given them any useful pointers for life, and coming to terms with the basics of sex will never go out of style if we keep being this bigoted and dogmatic.

The show is very much an ensemble piece, and every member of the company is absolutely astounding. The cast exude energy and passion. Laurie Kynaston is a reflective and studious Melchior, while Amara Okereke's Wendla is a diligent girl with a burning curiosity. Stuart Thompson steals the scene as Moritz, who frantically fights with feelings of failure and estrangement, while the rest of the young supporting cast are stars in the making. Catherine Cusak and Mark Lockyer are the adult duo who flawlessly juggle a series of characters that go from mothers and fathers to teaching staff and doctors, acting as foil to the children and are the epicentre of everything.

And there's something to say about this specific group of actors - many of them barely out of drama school! - who, in the middle of a pandemic with Omicron decimating theatres across the country, are nevertheless giving the best of their best on stage. They explore life, they cry, and shout dirty words, impudent and shameless, delivering the narrative with impeccable aplomb. Goold (with Pippa Ailion CDG and Natalie Gallacher CDG) couldn't have cast the show any better.

It's a stunning, riotous masterpiece of a revival. There are too many astonishing moments to mention; its visuals are so often breathtaking and Lynne Page's choreography is exquisitely eloquent. From the entirety of the exhilarating "Totally Fucked" to a tall, tank-like glass cage that isolates some of the characters being lowered to the ground just enough so that it becomes a casket, the production is virtually perfect. Goold redefines Spring Awakening and moulds it into a politically charged musical for 2021, even dragging a subtle dash of Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion into the intense and momentous equation.

Against the tall, black bleachers designed by Miriam Buether, we witness a new generation taking charge of their future. They acknowledge unfairness and cruelty and are not afraid to call out injustice. Child abuse is addressed, with Martha's classmates pointing out that beating children is wrong. Moritz's friends mourn the life he could not live. How can a mother equip her daughter to live safely and healthily when she herself doesn't have the language to explain the issues she will face?

There are so many ways we can fail our own children. The piece is a call to arms and a bid to listen. It's emotional, beautiful, affecting, and so, so poignant and inspiring in a year when our youngest had to come to terms with a society that, surprisingly, became even more broken than it already was. Profound silences stare powerful songs in the face in an electric crossfire. There isn't a production more deserving of a West End transfer.

Spring Awakening runs at the Almeida Theatre until 22 January 2022.

Photo credit: Marc Brenner

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