Reader Reviews
Passion (Donmar Warehouse, West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | This has always been my ‘problem Sondheim’. I don’t find the story at all convincing, so I find it difficult to engage with it. I admire it, but I don’t love it in the way I love most of his shows. It’s set in 19th century Italy and the story concerns an army officer, his affair with a married woman and the obsession of the sister of a fellow officer with him. The love affair between Giorgio and Clara rings true, but there’s an implausibility about the behaviour of Fosca and the reaction of Giorgio. It’s played for 110 minutes without a break and the music is almost all sung dialogue rather than songs, so it feels like an opera rather than a musical. On its first London outing 14 years ago, it was a bit lost on a bigger West End stage. A more ‘chamber’ staging here at the Donmar is better suited to the piece and Christopher Oram’s period design is simply superb. Jamie Lloyd’s staging is stunning, elegant and flowing, much helped by Scott Ambler’s brilliant choreography / movement. A perfect combination of period style and elegance. Elena Roger follows her extraordinary Evita and Piaf with another fine performance as Fosca, but it was David Thaxton who blew me away with a terrific and appropriately passionate performance as Giorgio. Scarlett Strallen (yes, another Strallen - is there a production line?!) also impresses as Clara. In fact, there isn’t a fault in the casting, with every role excellently played and exceptionally sung. Alan Williams’ small 9-piece string and woodwind dominated band played the gentle lush score beautifully. Whatever you think of the show, it was and still is original and ground-breaking and here it’s given a definitive production in a theatre it seems to be made for. It won’t be the highlight of Sondheim’s 80th year for me, but I’m very glad I saw it again. - Gareth James | 23 Nov 10 |
| The show is called passion yet i felt nothing. In fact i felt so much nothing it left no lasting impression on me at all. Which is a MASSIVE shame because this is (rather tricky to get right) but equally a brilliant show, however wunderkind Jamie Lloyd has blanded it out so much that the safety net it catches us in leaves me in no doubt as to why it's had such luke warm reviews. It's not bad, per-sey, but it's just not interesting. Elena roger gives a subtle performance as Fosca, David Thaxton (not quite pretty, and not quite good enough) is ok, but then stoops to Musical Theatre gestures towards the end which ruins it a bit. The unexpected star is Scarlett Strallen. I surprised even myself there! The biggest fault in this production is the musical direction. It's so restrained i could almost hear the algorithms that it was conducted by. It's as if all trace of love or passion or emotion has been eradicated from every nuance of the score. The singers don't get to sing and the band no space to breathe. Melodrama isn't a bad thing if it is controlled, but this clinical interpretation was almost as if emotion was a dirty word for both MD and director. I repeat. the shows called PASSION.... lets take that as the starting point next time shall we boys! Oh. And PLEASE use the lady understudy insetad of the burly bears in the Fosca's history sequence. I went with it, but it's just stupid and adds nothing to the production. - Cassox | 21 Nov 10 |
| Saw this again at the matinee yesterday and, if possible, it was even better, just can't understand why people do not get this show! All of the performances have developed and the eye patch David Birrell now has to use to protect his damaged eye looks so right, congrats to him for being such a trooper and making sure the show carried on. Great, Great, Great. - KJ | 04 Nov 10 |
| Elena Roger perfomance is very poor. - John | 01 Nov 10 |
| Second attempt at posting so clearly rds is not the only one suffering site problems. Anyway: By the time I reached the cobbles of Earlham Street I couldn't recall a single melody from Passion, althogh that is not unusual for a Sondheim musical. However, this show will be memorable thanks to an intense and, yes, passionate production from Jamie Lloyd. Elena Roger is a haunting, spectral Fosca but it's a shame she doesn't have a stand-out song to really showcase her talent. There is also attractive support from David Thaxton and Scarlet Strallen (Auntie Bonnie was watching, looking very fetching with black hair). Passion has been described as a Marmite musical which people either love or hate. Well, I love Marmite and for me Passion is one of the better Sondheim shows. - David Baxter | 28 Oct 10 |
| The first one star here, attributed to me, is not for this show....WOS must sort out the problems they obviously have with their website. As for Passion it was rather less than the sum of its passionate parts. The staging and lighting are stunning, Christopher Oram just gets better and better. However, the show does not live up to expectations. I kept hearing refrains from Into The Woods and Follies....was this show cobbled together from Mr S's leftovers? I wanted it so much to work, but it never raised itself above the mediocre. Someone here refers to paint Never Dries and I, too, felt there was something of that show's naffness about it. Elena Roger tried her hardest, I am sure, but as with Evita and Piaf she is really up to the job. The rest of the cast were as competent as they could be with one of the great man's less than rewarding shows. A huge amount of effort, and not without injury, but for what? This show marks the point when Mr S lost his touch. - rds | 16 Oct 10 |
| Just returned from seeing this production which was quite magnificient. The first thing to say is that it is staged to perfection - the lighting, the scenery and the choreography of the scenes are stunning. The Donmar lends itself perfectly, its intimacy creating a chamber piece environment within which this dark piece comes alive. The characters are cast brilliantly, the beautiful Clara, brought to life exzuisitely by Scarlett Strallen in love with the gorgeous Giorgio played by David Thaxton who exudes a beauty and charm that any woman (and many men) would fall for. Then there's frail, ugly Fosca. In Elena Roger she is cast to perfection, her slight frame seems so brittle, it will break at any point. As she toys with Giorgio and gradually wins his love, her beauty shines through. There is a fine supporting ensemble and of course a quite wonderful score which tugs at the heart strings. I'm glad its played without an interval (I think as originally conceived) though not as played in the original London run. It flows much better with the momentum retained. Sondheim and the Donmar seem perfect companions and this production is another huge success. I only wish the run wasn't sold out and I could see it again. - Paul Wallis | 14 Oct 10 |
| This is a very dreary, one tune score, one idea book. I thought the other guy wrote about paint drying. The cast, including the wonderful Ms Roger, is far too good for it and her anguished off stage bellowing at the start made me wonder if she was reading reviews or simply bemoaning the yak's hair wigs.AVOID! - coral | 01 Oct 10 |
| I saw this last night and thought it was a beautiful piece of theatre. I loved the way the music flowed and didn't keep stopping for songs or big production numbers. The design is brilliant as is the staging (especially the dances to move furniture around). On top of all that, you have an excellent cast led by 3 beautiful and talented performers. David Thaxton is a perfect Georgio (much better than Michael Ball was). His singing is so powerful and he has a massive stage presence. It's easy to see why either of the girls would fall for his charms and good looks. Elena Roger's voice sounds great. Although I would have liked to see an attempt to make her ugly (the script says she is, but you look at her and she is beautiful). She is so small and fragile though, that it doesn't really matter. I'm glad they've removed that extra song and the interval that was added when it opened at the Queen's Theatre all those years ago. I would certainly love to go again. - Steve | 30 Sep 10 |
| I'm afraid I find this so much less theatrically interesting than Sondheim's other show's - a dreary naturalism pervades, and all too often the action stops while the ensemble try to cover their table-shifting with a choral reprise of the soloists' music. The whole thing feels much more Anglo-Saxon than Italian (I liked the Broadway revival of 'Nine''s choice to use Italian accents) - and the character of Clara seems a particularly dreary creation, all golden ringlets and no sexuality. And too often Giorgio has to sing too low (in his leading ladies' keys)... - JC | 28 Sep 10 |
| Haven't seen this production of the show but admittedly love the score and Sondheim's work generally. Am disappointed in Mr Coveney's review - does he particularly phrase his sentences just to be able to include cloyingly smug remarks like "Giorgio on their minds"? It's irrelevant and smacks of the kind of self-indulgent "oh aren't I clever" reviewing that really has no place in a serious critique. - LL | 22 Sep 10 |
| There is no such thing as a wrong opinion, but I do wish the reviewer had a better understanding of concert music. If so, they would hane understood that the score of PASSION is not a collection of songs, but rather one long Rhapsody interruiped by brief segments of dialogue. It is because of this unique construction that the show gains its deep emotional power. - Mark Andrew Lawrence | 22 Sep 10 |
| Sondheim's score is by turns rhapsodic and shimmeringly repressed, only a fool would claim that it is flat. - Paul | 22 Sep 10 |
| A superb production of a slow-burning classic - which I must admit not to have appreciated before. Obviously Mr Coveney is still using his myopic pills, which really don't work well with his tin ear. - DPL | 22 Sep 10 |
| What a great 80th birthday present, the best of the five productions I have seen of this great work. I despair of those like Mr Coveney who can't appreciate this great work and predict 'Loving You is Not A Choice' will become accepted as a Sondheim classic - it really defines Fosca's character. - KJ | 22 Sep 10 |
| Once again Mr Coveney I think that you are seeing a totally different show to the rest of the audience. This production slightly changed from the original swept you along with all the emotion that came from every single performer on the stage. Elena Roger was simply flawless in the role. If I was Coveney I would either reassess the production or his job ! As a reviewer you cannot be taken seriously anymore. - Kevin Q | 22 Sep 10 |
| Superb production of an ok show. The original production left me underwhelmed in spite of maria Friedman and Michael Ball. But this one has a very simple set and stunning performances. Elena Roger steals the show with her heartbreaking Fosca - Maria | 22 Sep 10 |
