Review: Chess (Royal Academy Musical Theatre Company)

Review by Molly Gulvin

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There’s always a sense of excitement when you know that you’re witnessing the future talent of the theatre world, and the Royal Academy Musical Theatre Company’s performance of Chess is no different. This musical is no mean feat to perform, and the Royal Academy students prove in this production that the future of musical theatre is in safe hands.

As a musical, Chess has been chopped and changed more than once, most recently for the Broadway revival that closed last month. This production uses the original London book, by Tim Rice, which received a mixed response in the musical’s premiere in 1986. Set during the Cold War, we start in 1979 Italy, where American Freddie Trumper and Soviet Anatoly Sergievsky face off in the World Chess Championships. However, this is more than just a tournament. It is an indirect competition of Eastern versus Western powers, and proves to be even more as Freddie’s second, Florence Vassy, helps Anatoly defect from the Soviet Union at the end of the tournament. One year later, we arrive in Bangkok, where the next tournament is taking place. Anatoly is fighting to defend his title, but this becomes more complex as each character becomes a political pawn, with far more than a chess tournament at stake.

I can’t say that I knew the plot “so well” before seeing the show, but I found it compelling and hugely emotional throughout. Rice’s book makes for a work that tackles love and politics in equal amounts, yet never sacrificing one for the other. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame worked with Rice to create the music of Chess, with their hallmark firmly set upon the work. The score is memorable and filled with hits that have extended to mainstream popularity, but each song has been carefully crafted to ensure it pushes the narrative whilst being musically engaging. The orchestrations help to execute this - with the recent trend towards reduced instrumentation, it is a joy to watch a musical with a score that is written for and performed by a full orchestra.

It can’t be said that this production takes a particular number of risks when it comes to interpretations of the text, but it simply doesn’t need to when the original vision is executed to such perfection. Bruce Guthrie directs this production and it is clear that his creative vision has been well interpreted and executed across the show. Each moment allows the performers to shine, but doesn’t detract from the themes and morals of the work as a whole. The performance has a natural flow and no element of the narrative feels starved of attention, even though the text certainly gives a lot to cover. His direction creates a production that you don’t even want to blink whilst watching in case you miss another brilliantly executed idea.

I could write paragraphs upon paragraphs praising the performers but to be concise, the entire ensemble is phenomenal. Not a single beat is missed by any member of the company for the two hours that they are on stage and each and every performer pours their heart and soul into this performance, resulting in a production that is sharp, slick and vocally outstanding. Emilio Moreno Arias makes for a wonderful Freddie, and Jobim Ffrench plays the Arbiter with charisma and style. Laura Araiza Inasaridse - who is also the Dance Captain - is an outstanding performer, taking the role of Florence in her stride and bringing down the house with both ‘Nobody’s Side’ and ‘I Know Him So Well’ alongside Rachelle Ojomo as a brilliant Svetlana. However, my highest praise must be given to Adam Haddour as Anatoly Sergievsky: his emotional depth and range is incredible, and he provides stellar vocals from start to finish. Given the performance I saw, I have absolutely no doubt that ‘Cast Z’ (as opposed to this ‘Cast A’) would be just as olished and vocally strong.

There are so many technical elements of this show that just work so perfectly that it’s hard to single a few out. First and foremost, however, praise must be given to the (approximately) 26-strong orchestra, who made Andersson and Ulvaeus’s score sound effortless - which I know for a fact is not true. Similar praise must be extended to George Jackson, musical director for this performance, who obviously has a wonderful talent for conducting and led the performance cleanly. Andrzej Goulding does an excellent job at ensuring that the chess of Chess is evident in his set and video design, using live videography that was reminiscent of Jamie Lloyd’s Evita to effectively portray the live broadcasting throughout. Both Sophia Pardon’s costume designs and Imogen Clarke and Rob Halliday’s lighting designs help to reinforce the more political messages behind the work, and they work together to demonstrate the East-West divide that persists alongside the main story. Ben Hartley’s choreography works to highlight solo performances whilst also creating some wonderful moments as a group.

There are a multitude of reasons to take a chance on new work or rising performers, and the Royal Academy Musical Theatre Company’s production of Chess demonstrates them perfectly. A pleasure to watch from start to finish, each and every part of this production was executed to the highest degree and highlights the promising future that the theatre industry has. This production unites every moving part to create a performance that reveals the diamond that Chess can be.

Chess plays at the Royal Academy of Music until 5th July. Tickets are available from https://www.ram.ac.uk/events/chess

Photos by Craig Fuller