Fuelled by the five-star recommendations of colleagues and friends who’d seen it in New York or Hammersmith, my expectations for this show’s West End transfer were driven sky-high – and, with that, came the invariable dread that the reality couldn’t possibly match the hype. However, to my immense relief, I had nothing to fear.
Spring Awakening is everything it should be: fresh, exciting, enthralling, irreverent, hugely entertaining and performed with almost psychotic energy and exuberant abandon by a young cast in possession of bucketloads of talent. Of the three leads, it’s hard to take your eyes off Aneurin Barnard, a young Rufus Sewell lookalike with all the moody intelligence of his elder, as Melchior, or to be unmoved by Iwan Rheon, as his sleep-deprived friend Moritz with his electric shock mop, and Charlotte Wakefield, as the besotted but fatally ignorant Wendla. Also making a remarkable – and remarkably touching – debut, aged just 16, is Lucy Parker as the abused and abandoned Ilse, facing a future on the scrapheap.
The company and production – with its pulsing beats, swaying kaleidoscope of lights, angry choreography and thrillingly anachronistic clashes – works its magic on the audience with an almost hypnotic effect.
Expletives aside (with songs including “Totally Fucked”, this surely isn’t for the prudish), my one note of caution when booking concerns seating. My view from the stalls was perfect, but I’m told that those in the Novello’s top two levels experience serious sightline problems, with much of the action near the front of the stage. Even still, the producers’ pricing policy – with tickets starting at £10 and best available seats for young people at just £20 – mitigates against any complaints about value-for-money.
Spring Awakening is unlike anything else in the West End – it’s a hugely welcome addition and, like Avenue Q, should be just the ticket to make theatre affordable, accessible and attractive for a whole new generation of audiences.
- Terri Paddock
Frank Wedekind’s 1891 drama Spring Awakening, banned in most European countries for over 50 years, was given its first “private” performance in Britain at the Royal Court in 1963 in the same season as Barry Reckord’s Skyvers, a study of disaffected teenagers and repressive teachers in a London secondary school.
That mood of saying the unsayable or forbidden is brilliantly captured in this superb indie-rock musical adaptation of Wedekind’s play, in which the pounding emotional protest numbers and the tender lyrical songs express the interior lives of the adolescents, and Bill T Jones’ regimented choreography denotes the opposite, exterior frustrations in processional foot stomps and arm twitches à la Pina Bausch.
Michael Mayer’s production started out in the tiny Atlantic Theatre in New York and comes trailing Broadway glory and eight Tony awards. A year-long audition process has yielded a really wonderful young cast of British talent led by two Welsh boys – Aneurin Barnard as Melchior and Iwan Rheon as Moritz – who frankly knock any TV talent show contestants and winners of recent times into a total cocked hat.
Melchior is the bright boy who has discovered sex and atheism for himself and ends up in a brutal reformatory. Moritz is the archetypal victim of a school system that picks on him and drives him into tragic isolation. Their friendship runs parallel to Melchior’s budding love affair with Wendla (Charlotte Wakefield, another delightful discovery) whose mother simply won’t tell her the facts of life. All the adults – parents, teachers, doctors – are played by Sian Thomas and Richard Cordery.
All the children are dressed in late 19th-century costume while the theatrical language of lights, sound and music is abrasively modern. The seven-man rock band occupies the school gym setting with the actors and some audience members sitting on bleachers at the side. The world of the play is a constellation of light bulbs and neon strips in Kevin Adams’ stunning design, while sets and costumes by Christine Jones and Susan Hilferty deserve unusually redoubled applause.
In succession to Hair and Rent, this is the third great Broadway rock musical and the most cunningly conceived of them all. It does full justice to an important play while enhancing the language of musical theatre in its embrace of youth cultures separated by a century.
There’s nothing new about the pain of growing up, the cruelty of adults, “the bitch of living” as the boys have it, marching over their classroom chairs and shouting till they explode. With highly intelligent book and lyrics by Steven Sater and mesmerising music by Duncan Sheik, the show’s an absolute must-see and by far the best new musical in London for ages.
The Drowsy Chaperone, Desperately Seeking Susan, Spring Awakening - is the Novello the new Shaftesbury Theatre? Just Like the wonderful Drowsy, Spring Awakening deserves much better. On a second viewing it is even better than at Hammersmith, revealing far more depth to the story and the rock score sounds so much better in context than on the CD. Mention should also be made of a brilliant lighting design, but the choreography is still awful. Much has been made of the youth of the cast but Sian Thomas and Richard Cordery are excellent in all the adult roles. The young cast have greatly improved with more experience even if one or two of the vocals are a bit rough. More will be seen of them, particularly Aneurin Barnard and the exquisite Charlotte Wakefield but sadly not of Spring Awakening. I have no idea why it failed to find an audience (the prices can't have helped) but it is desperately sad that such a brave show will not be seen again in the West End. - David Baxter
20 May 09
WOW !-didn't expect to enjoy this show half as much as I did-great performances and a literate and interesting book-deserves huge and continued success and also a 2nd visit. - David Davies
08 May 09
If this show is not a great success the West End is on its last legs - this is the best new musical with original music to have opened in London for several years - go see it while you can if you miss it you will regret it. Hopefully it will attract a young audience but if your not that young do not be put off I am over fifty and thought it to be great - Chris
06 May 09
I saw the NYC production two years ago and really didn't like it at all. I reluctantly went back to see it at the Lyric Hammersmith last month and fell in love with it and so went again with friends in tow to the Novello. I still don't quite understand why I should have had such differing opinions of the NYC production and the London one? Maybe I was in a grumpy mood in NYC as it looked and sounded pretty much the same? A more likely reason though is the talent of the London cast. They may look very similar to the NY actors, but there is something else about them, a depth of emotion in their portrayals which is quite astonishing. It is very rare for a show to get *****s, but not in this case it certainly deserves all of them. 10/10! - rds
04 May 09
Brilliant - just brilliant! - AA
03 May 09
Amazing score, brilliant young cast, superb lighting, remarkable staging! GO and see it now! Easily the best show on The West End. Saw it on Broadway in 2007 and this production is even better! - Mr Hewitt
18 Apr 09
Easily the best new musical in the West End for many many years. Very moving show with great music, exciting staging and talented cast with the energy to light up the national grid. This show will sweep up all the awards it is so orginal. Very rarely can a piece of theatre be a potential life changing experience but Spring Awakening is a wake up call in many ways. I have already booked to see it again ! - Mark Raymond
06 Apr 09
Superb show with an extemely talented cast for a brilliant nights entertainment. What more could one want. - Tony C
31 Mar 09
What a refreshing change! May it run for a long time and introduce many new young people to the theatre.
- Stuart
30 Mar 09
Best thing in the West End; makes most other musicals look positively arthritic. Original and enthralling. Do not miss it. - ajh
27 Mar 09
Best, nay, only musical worth seeing since 'Caroline or Change'. - An old person
27 Mar 09
During the interval I couldn't quite decide what I thought about this new and original show. On one hand the book was excellent as was the acting - especially from the oustanding Bernard and Wakefield who have huge futures ahead of them. On the other hand I felt that only one or two of the musical numbers worked, and many seemed to make the same point (that the characters feel trapped, anger and teen angst) and the number of indi-rock numbers sat uncomofortably within the context of the show.
Fortunatly the second half build on the positives and the show became ever-so-slightly more of a traditional musical (where the music and lyrics move the drama forward), and the style of music became more varied), and it so worked. The scene of the funeral in particular, I thought outstanding, as was the end.
That its different to the norm, and is based on a book rather than back catalogue of revival, is refreshing. The cast are energetic and hugely talented, (I did struggle to emotionally engage with the Moritz character though). Comparisons with Rent are obvious but unfair - Spring Awakening is far far better.
It's certainly worth a look - my only slight regret is not listening to any of the musical material beforehand. I intend to give it a look in six months time, however whether it can stick around in the West End long enough may be another matter. - Richard
02 Mar 09
I see from the site that Spring Awakening is to transfer to the Novello, which is good news as it should find a similar audience to Avenue Q - those who previously thought they did not like musicals. It is understandable why Wedekind's play proved so shocking in the 1890s and the emo alt-rock score is ideally suited to this story of troubled teenagers discovering their developing sexuality, even if some of the score is les than memorable and the choreography is excruciating. There are excellent leading performances from Lee Mead lookalike Aneurin Barnard and especially Charlotte Wakefield, but some of the singing by the supporting actors is less impressive. For the West End there may need to be some recasting with more experienced performers, but I look forward to seeing this unusual show again to see how it has developed and improved after a few months. This was also my first visit to the Lyric and it is very odd to find a Victorial proscenium theatre on the second floor of a modern office building, but the entire stalls seating is well below stage level. - David Baxter
18 Feb 09
Could this be the future for musical theatre? ... No. What's your next question? - Sally Bundock
17 Feb 09
This is one of the most refreshing shows I have seen for a very long time. Could this be the future for musical theatre? Spring Awakening takes the genre to a whole new level, handling a comedic yet tragic story so beautifully and successfully. The music is fantastic indie, rock, appealing outside of its show soundtrack bounds. The show benefits from a superb, young, fresh faced and hugely talented company, with leading lights Sian Thomas and Richard Cordery playing the various adults. Iwan Rheon (Moritz) has an overwhelmingly beautiful voice with a sharp, rugged edge not dissimilar to artists such as Paolo Nutini and Damien Rice. Aneurin Barnard (Melchior) is an outstanding actor, carrying his story with great sensitivity to the character. Charlotte Wakefield (Wendla), a wonderfully innocent and gifted performer, with Jamie Blackley (Hanschen), Jos Slovick (Georg) and Harry McEntire (Ernst) some of the most notable and splendid of the remaining cast.
With an emotive second act and an inspiring finale, this is a true journey not only for the characters (or indeed audience) on stage, but equally for the audience who are carried on an emotional passage. If you don’t see this show, you will certainly miss the theatrical opportunity of the year. - T Jones
14 Feb 09
I was expecting great things after reading the reviews, but then a friend gave me a copy of the original cast recording. I can't say I was blown away, and I thought some of the songs were a bit dull. However, I went to see the show on Tuesday night, and lets just say, it's one of those shows you need to see to appreciate the music. I thought it was fantastic. I thought the acting from the young cast was superb and there was a couple of occassions especially towards the end where I was thinking please dont spoil the atmosphere with OTT emotions, and they didn't. The singing was superb also. Wendla and Melchior both have beautiful voices and portrayed their stories through their songs. I thought the young guy who played Hanchen was excellent too, just the right amount of confidence and comedy, really made me smile. Ilsa was also fantastic and she was part of I think the most haunting part of the first act, 'I know the dark so well'. The second half is a lot darker but they managed to keep me spellbound throughout without making it, 'Lets play for tears'. By the end of the show, I was enthralled, and quite emotional, purple summer is a great way to end this dramatic moving piece of theatre. So didnt care if anyone else gave them an ovation, I was going to, thankfully I wasn't the only one. Great night out. - T Garrad
12 Feb 09
It was really great. I have the Broadway cast recording, but haven't listened to it a lot so I wasn't entirely familir with the music, but there were one or two songs that really stood out. I found myself tapping my foot. The cast were all very young, fresh faced & energetic. So refershing to see a cast of relatively unknowns. As much as I truly enjoyed it, its a show that I feel that you may have to see again just to see if the level of energy is maintained and to pick up on all of those little things that you missed the first time round. I was told that it was like RENT, only better- I disagree. Although I can see the similarities, I think that its wrong to make the comparison. They are two entirely different shows. I think that this show has SO MUCH potential to be HUGE! - Anthony B
11 Feb 09
Absolutley awesome! The male chorus deserve a mention though! Jamie Blackley is fantastic as the gay, charasmatic, seductive Hanchen. And Jos Slovick as Georg, what an unbelievable voice this young man has, totally disguinshed from the rest, has the audience in the palm of his hand. Go and see it!! Its absolutlely stunning! - John H
10 Feb 09
Absolutely incredible show. I have to say the guy who played Ernst really stood out for me - such a beautiful voice which hasn't been given enough credit - THS
05 Feb 09
When you go to the theatre as often as I do, it's rare that you come out thinking 'I've never seen anything like that before'. Well, here's an exception. A 19th century German play about adolescent sexual awakening in period costume with original character names and a barely changedstoryline......where the actors frequently take a microphone and express how they FEEL about what's happening to them in lovely contemporary pop / rock songs.....and it works brilliantly because the subject matter is timeless and you believe in it because you've been there - maybe a few years back or maybe ages ago, but you've been there nonetheless. The cast of young actors, most of whom are making their professional debut, are outstanding and the small band at the back of the stage provide excellent accompaniment. It's set in a school gym recognisable from any place and any time with a few rows of audience members mixed with small chorus at the sides. The lighting is exceptional and there are moments of real beauty that take your breath away. There hasn't been a ground-breaking musical like this since Jerry Springer - the Opera. I've loved Billy Elliott, The Producers, Hairspray.....but despite the echoes of Rent, this has a freshness of form which is thrilling. I've just downloaded the music and I can't wait to see it again. This is why I go to the theatre. - Gareth James
05 Feb 09
Amazingly well cast and a refreshingly new and exciting musical. I wasn't sure quite what to expect but will definitely be returning again soon. Bravo Lyric! - AA
04 Feb 09
I've just read Charles Spencer's review in the Telegraph and WOS's own Michael Coveney's review in the Independent, both gave FIVE stars! Nicholas de Jongh, however, in the Evening Standard gave it only two stars....who do you think wishes they'd thought about it a bit more before writing their review? YES, Nicholas de Jongh of course!! How out of step can you be? It is a remarkable show with a truly remarkably talented cast...go see before you are forced to pay outrageous West End prices! - FAN-ATIC
04 Feb 09
Didn't know what to expect, but I loved it ! Brilliant cast. - dcp
04 Feb 09
Thrilling piece. Superbly performed and directed. Exhilirating music. And, as the issue has been raised, I'm a genuine punter too. - fred
04 Feb 09
I saw this on Saturday and enjoyed it so much more than the New York production that I saw last year . I was completely blown away by the entire cast and I think they deserved every bit of one of the most rapturous audience receptions I have ever experienced in a theatre . I'm not a friend or family or a teenager for that matter either.
Highly recommended - Crombiestone
04 Feb 09
The best bit of this production is the extremely talented cast, I've not seen a show cast this well in a while. The book and score are a bit disjointed but a great night out at the theatre anyway. I hope it makes it to the West End but doesn't suffer from WE ticket prices. - Not family or a friend.
04 Feb 09
I wasn't sure what to expect from Spring Awakening but was absolutely blown away by the whole thing. Amazing individual performances from some incredibly talented young people, a beautiful score and stunning set and lighting. I can't wait to see it again when it transfers. - Jenny
04 Feb 09
I'm bemused by the over-the-top reviews of this show. I found the set rather bland and pointless (a seat which moves across a wall anyone?), the songs all seem to finish abrubtly even before they get going and the show is only shocking if you don't get out much. Unless you are a hormonal teenager, don't bother! - Bad Idea Bear
04 Feb 09
Refreshingly different I hope this show gets a west end transfer as it is a youthful show that appeals to all ages. I knew the play and could not imagine it being a success as a musical how wrong could I be? Brilliant young cast perform and act superbly I will be very lucky to see a better show this year. - Chris
02 Feb 09
Refreshingly different I hope this show gets a west end transfer as it is a youthful show that appeals to all ages. I knew the play and could not imagine it being a success as a musical how wrong could I be? Brilliant young cast perform and act superbly I will be very lucky to see a better show this year. - Chris
02 Feb 09
No Judith, but if I am not mistaken that seat was taken by a gentleman, of a certain age, who seemed to bop along to the music - I am now intrigued as to why you ask? And in response to Andrew's blog I couldn't agree more, a hearty Bravo to them all. - rds
01 Feb 09
I can't remember the last time I gave five stars to anything... nor can I remember the last time a show was met with such rapturous applause and a spontaneous standing ovation from the whole audience at the curtain call. The acting, singing, music and staging are wonderful - from an energetic, sexy and talented cast. I would be hugely disappointed if a West End transfer (but with reasonable ticket prices) weren't on the cards. Bravo! - Andrew
01 Feb 09
rds did you sit on the (auditorium) left-hand end of row B ? - Judith
01 Feb 09
Well Sally I am a genuine punter and this was a fantastic production of Spring Awakening. I saw it in NYC a couple of years ago and didn't like it - I just didn't get it? But boy have this cast convinced me how wrong I was. The casting director alone deserves an award for being spot on picking actors who so closely resemble the original NYC cast and who also on top of that are so talented too! This high energy, moving, story of first love is conveyed with such sensitivity, by this thrilling young cast, that it isn't difficult to see it being bigger than WICKED when it hits the West End. The writers must be absolutely thrilled by the results of this British company. It isn't too often that an American musical is done that much better here, but it certainly is the case with this production. And it is also an endorsement of our drama schools and academies who have turned out these remarkable young people. I would mention individuals by name, but that would just end up a shopping list of talent, instead go and see it and if you can't get to the Lryic Hammersmith then don't despair as it is destined for the Novello when it finishes at the Lyric. Young or old it's a show that puts a "spring" in your step when you leave the theatre. - rds
31 Jan 09
I thought SA was fantastic, a very talented bunch of young people from the main characters to the Swings, especially as for most of them this was their professional debut. The energy was amazing. I loved the show and would tell anyone teenage or older to experience it. I'll definately be going back in a few weeks to see it again. - Lara
30 Jan 09
I see the friends/family/cast members reviews are in - now what did the real punters think? - Sally Bundock
30 Jan 09
One of the best musiicals I have had the pleasure of watching in a long time. Fantastically talented young cast, really well written book and music and a very fresh and innovative idea. I really hope it does well and moves into the West End for a very long time. Preferably to an equally small and intimate venue. - Steve
25 Jan 09
Absolutely incredible. What a show! Funny, emotional, shocking and energetic. The beautiful score, lavish set and dynamic choreography of the original broadway production were very much kept alive, and added to by Michael Mayer and the rest of the creative team. The British cast were all absolutely outstanding too - notably Charlotte Wakefield as Wendla and Aneurin Barnard as Melchior, and especially Richard Southgate who stepped in to understudy Moritz, which can't have been easy on the first night. Although nerves were evident, the performance wasn't far from flawless, leaving not a single dry eye in the audience. The reaction was incredible too; applause ringing out for almost 5 minutes after the final bows! Probably the best show I have seen in London for over 2 years. I really hope it transfers to the West End, so that more people can experience the wonder that is Spring Awakening, but just in case I have already booked for another viewing at the Lyric, and I just can't wait! - Ronan Shiels
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