THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by George Furth
Bridewell Theatre, Bride Lane, Off Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8EQ
When it comes to the risks of immersive theatre, the effort is rarely worth the payoff. I say this having got excited and let down by a fair few immersive productions in London – from a disappointingly passive adaption of Orwell’s 1984 to the regrettably anodyne and unmoving but visually lush dystopian Storehouse in Deptford last year.
So it is with a refreshing sense of elation that I can say that in this respect and many, many others, Sedos’ ‘immersive’ production of Sondheim’s Company has got it just right, with a light touch of environmental envelopment, just enough to charm you into feeling like the setting is that much more authentic and intimate, just enough to charm you into feeling like you’ve stepped into a warm if slightly romanticised vision of a stylish New York apartment in a mythical time period at some point in a speculative timeline in which normal people could afford nice places in New York.
The cleverly constructed set has audiences walking down a city street with brick walls, into the main character Bobby’s apartment, with actors having casual conversations about the party they are about to attend as well. Through windows we can glimpse and hear sections of the orchestra, under Musical Director Thomas Marples’ vision and careful conducting, playing what sounds like free form jazz to help build up the synesthetic Sondheim of it all. We are then sat in seats that surround a full reconstruction of Bobby’s place; sofas, kitchen, bedroom and coffee tables, envelopes on our seats marked ‘Bobby’ in cursive with notes inside from each of his party guests. All of these immersive elements strategically add a delicious sense that we are stepping into the imaginative space of one of the greatest and most visionary composers and lyricists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
And then there is the panache of it all. We have a chorus of characters, Bobby’s friends, mostly entwined as couples, married and simply in long term relationships, in varying states of happiness and quiet misery. And of course we have music, jazzy, experimental form. A damn well connected and synced up ensemble, harmonising beautifully with each other and delivering Sondheim’s incisively witty lines with casual swaggers.
Will Garrood is a triumph as the protagonist, listlessly wandering the stage and restraining any attempts at hamminess in favour of a laconic performance that draws us in contemplatively and builds to a powerful and yearning crescendo in the end. Anna Toogood steals the show as Amy performing the patter song ‘Not Getting Married Today,’ to joyous and smashingly compelling perfection. Lauren Williams’ choreography is finely tuned and makes intelligent and resourceful use of space.
What impressed me most and felt most poignant about Company though is this is a story about how much we are made up of a composite of all the different relationships in our lives, and the importance of fulfillment through connection. Sondheim’s New York is not one of algorithms or dating apps or of an easy digital retreat from difficulty. It is a collection of moments that are made more intriguing for their human portrayal of having to sit with and negotiate the messiness of connecting.
For Sondheimists and musical purists, it may lack a certain caliber of perfection. Sedos, the theatre society putting on the show, is after all explicitly amateur and therefore lacks a certain polish. For all that, it is a joyous and charming night of entertainment.
