REVIEW: SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD at Upstairs at the Gatehouse 10 Feb – 3 March 2024

'a warm, cleverly staged show with some standout moments' ★★★ ½

Watch the piano. That’s my advice to anyone attending this show: Anything that happens behind, in front or on top of it is excellent.

To backtrack a little: Songs for a New World is what is called a song cycle, a mix between a concert and a musical. Four performers—two men, two women—sing a series of different stories, as different characters, linked by theme: Each song is about someone facing a crisis point, a moment in time where one choice has the potential to change everything.

There’s a freedom in this structure that director Kai Wright and his design team have made liberal use of. They’ve transformed Upstairs at the Gatehouse into a cabaret antique shop of Americana. A flock of mismatched, topsy-turvy ceiling lamps washes everything in an orange glow while wine decanters, starburst fabric and stars-and-stripes dot the space. The show begins with the musical director (Liam Homes) wandering on, switching off the vintage radio and striking up his band—a group of uniformly outstanding musicians who remain onstage throughout.

The four singers are more uneven, at least on the acting side: They are all a pleasure to listen to, but the effectiveness of New World’s 16 pieces varies strongly by storytelling ability. Traditional musical theatre gestures—there’s some spinning, some falling to the knees, some coordinated hand movements—work less well in this casual, salon-like setting. That’s not to say Drama-With-A-Capital-T is out of place: Eleanor Frances leans heavily into farce for two of the night’s best songs, Just One Step and Surabaya-Santa. Both sung by a Woman Wronged, both cleverly choreographed against the piano, and both a joy. Meanwhile, Lizzy Parker’s I’m Not Afraid of Anything is an early tug on the heart strings, sung with a simplicity that makes its twist hit home.

Songs for a New World was first staged in 1995, a fact most obvious in the relationship content: There’s not a single non-heteronormative storyline in sight, and the women are particularly defined by their roles as wives, girlfriends, mothers. Copyright laws and music transpositions permitting, I would have loved to see some character- and pronoun-swapping- some more freedom to explore the material in unexpected castings.

Still, this is a warm, cleverly staged show with some standout moments. My only real warning: The main melody may or may not loop on repeat through your head for the next 72 hours. But you can’t criticise a musical—or a song cycle—for its catchiness.

SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD at Upstairs at the Gatehouse 10 Feb – 3 March 2024

Box Office

https://upstairsatthegatehouse.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173647540/events/428611515

Creatives

Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown

Director: Kai Wright

Associate Director: Tara Noonan

Designer: Sophie Goodman

Sound Designer. Glenn Oxbury

Lighting Designer: Jason Fenn

Casting Director. Benjamin Dwyer

Cast

Woman 1: Lizzy Parker

Woman 2: Eleanore Frances

Man 1: Luke Walsh

Man 2: Christopher Cameron

Standbys: Elizabeth Chalmers, Jonah Sercombe

Band

MD / Piano: Liam Homes

Associate MD: Jordan Li-Smith

Violen 2: Hannah Goodchild

Violen 2: Alex Seow

Cello: Joe Keenan

Bass Guitar: Simon Kennard

Drums: James Green

Production Team

Production Manager: Jason Fenn
Company Stage Manager: Sophie Oxenbury

Wardrobe Supervisor: Heléna Ferreira

Sound: Glenn Oxbury

Reviewed by Anna Clart