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The
Prodigals Belgrade
Theatre ****
THIS seemingly simple tale of a man with two sons is set against the
backdrop of a company of Scottish Soldiers, the ‘Highland Cavalry’, off
to Afghanistan to destroy the poppy harvest. It sets
off at a cracking pace with high-energy song and dance numbers that
leave you breathless. The initial vision scene is gripping; a huge cage
centre-stage has a projection of poppies gradually withering in a
time-lapse shot that both sums up the poppy’s import to the plot and the
Remembrance Day poppy. The action is quite dark, as
is the set, punctuated by immense lighting effects and sound to simulate
helicopters flying overhead. The MASH generation knows what it’s in for
. . . The plot, father Colonel Luke
Gibson (a very watchable Simon Bowman), career soldier with a family
tradition of soldiering, his elder son Captain Mike (Sam Ferriday) and
black sheep Kyle (Greg Oliver). Kyle and friend Kelly (Sarah Watson),
both ‘army brats’ dream of a huge music career. YouTube helps their
dream take flight – but Kyle is in the army now. And they both flirt
with the weed – and worse. But they pay a high price for success. Parallels with such as Pete
Docherty and Amy Winehouse emerge – and sadly Kelly takes an overdose,
Lyle gets the blame and is imprisoned. Not much meat here for a
musical? Fair question – but levity
arrives in the form of three air stewardesses to ‘guide’ them on their
‘trip’. The ensemble provides all the parts, dancers and soldiers, as
the stories of the two brothers diverge and these three wonderful
characters are welcome relief – Emma Franklin, Melanie Brown and Sarah
Wilkie. If ‘less is more’ then the
corollary is also true, and there were times when I felt overloaded; the
noise, the music, the dry ice, far too much scene-changing that didn’t
speed the story, confusion in separating the characters – and too much
activity in the early stages that hinder our attempts to build empathy. The best tunes are at the
end, there’s a fine one – ‘Confession’ - that Kelly sings from beyond
the grave, sibling rivalry provides the backdrop for ‘Invisible Son’ and
the finale ‘Sons of Glory’ is potentially great. All in all, you
couldn’t fault the energy and it’s an enjoyable evening with a good
story well told by director Joe Harmston who co-wrote the show with Ray
Goudie. To 14-09-13. Jane Howard
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