BWW Reviews: ORPHEUS, Linbury Studio Royal Opera House, September 15 2015

Is "unsummarisable" a word? If it's not, it's certainly the mot juste for Little Bulb Theatre's extraordinary Orpheus (at the Linbury Studio until September 19 and on tour). Set in a 1930s Parisian nightclub, we witness an account of the myth of Orpheus and his tragic journey into the underworld, told through music, operatic arias, chansons that are très français, mime, puppetry, slapstick and glorious, glorious singing.

Yvette Pépin (played by the remarkably gifted Eugenie Pastor) is our hostess for the night, doubling up as Eurydice in the dramatisation. She is quite a comedienne, but really excels in channelling Edith Piaf in a couple of showstopping numbers (the show does tell Orpheus's story, but it has room for a lot more besides). Chansons can appear overly melodramatic on television, but in a theatre - live - one understands why all those tears flowed when the Little Sparrow sang. Piaf may never have been evoked with more passion.

Ms Pépin finds her match in Django Reinhardt (Dominic Conway: silent, reminding me of Jean Dujardin in The Artist) who plays Orpheus with the clearly belief that he himself is the half-God's equal with the guitar - a belief not without foundation on this evidence! We hear a few of Reinhardt's songs throughout the show and very impressive they are too.

Supporting the principals are a group of multi-talented musician-actors. Clare Beresford, Miriam Gould and Shamira Turner form something of a Greek chorus (though they reminded me more of Les Triplettes de Belleville) full of wit and charisma - and boy, can they sing! Rounding out the ensemble are an inscrutable Charlie Penn on piano and Alexander Scott and Tom Penn on clarinet and drums, who slapstick wonderfully well and who hold back an astonishing gift only revealed late in the show, a surprise that comprehensively trumps Miss Saigon's helicopter for sheer shock value!

So there you have it - or perhaps not, since I'm not sure I can do justice to such a wonderfully eclectic and jaw-droppingly original show. The Tiger Lillies are perhaps the only reference point I can find, but Little Bulb light up the night with something that is very much their own. You'll have to see for yourself!

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