Review: Spring Awakening (Phoenix Arts Club)

Review by Sandy Swain

⭐⭐⭐

Musical favourite Spring Awakening made a return to London this week in a production from Taylor Jay at the intimate Phoenix Arts Club. As a long-time fan of the musical, intensifying after seeing the acclaimed 2021 production at the Almeida Theatre, I was excited to see what this production and director Tara Noonan would do with this classic musical about sexual awakenings and teenage rebellion. Would I love this production just as much or would it bore me?

Off the back of the Almeida Theatre production and the reunion concert of the 2009 London production this year- not to mention Deaf West Spring Awakening and, of course, the 2006 Broadway production with Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff- this version had a lot to live up to. I was nervous about it being a paint-by-numbers version of the material, considering the wide range of inspirations to draw from.  However, Taylor Jay Productions describe themselves as a “new innovative production company”. In fact, Spring Awakening (coming after their sold-out [title of show]) is the first show in their ‘Platform’ Programme, which gives up-and-coming performers experience in a professional show outside of drama school, including non-Spotlight members. So would this innovativeness in terms of theatre-making make its way into the production?

The first thing to note is this production has clearly been made by people who know the show well – You can tell that from the angsty pre-show playlist perfectly fitting the theme. However, this Spring Awakening stands as its own production, though somewhat shakily. The freshness mainly comes from the brilliant bold cast, giving their characters nuances that could easily be dismissed in a weaker production. Given her naivety, Wendla could easily be passive but Olivia Mae Ward’s version is refreshingly assured. Similarly, Melchior’s role as rebellious leader could easily be grating, especially given his darker moments in the show, but Elliot Butler’s portrayal is of a conflicted boy.

While I was initially worried about Moritz’s portrayal due to Callum Bultitude’s introduction, with Moritz’s sexual anxieties being played very comedically (with a lot of great physical comedy from Bultitude) which left me fearing the impact of the tone switch near the end of act one. Thankfully, this was completely unfounded as Bultitude’s Moritz was incredibly endearing as well as dark when it needed it.

In a show like Spring Awakening, even the smaller characters have moments to shine. The intimate venue of The Phoenix Arts Club worked in the production’s favour here, letting the audience get close to them physically and emotionally. A real stand out for me was Jack Arnold’s Hanschen. Wonderfully funny and charming, he was able to make the character his own. Another stand out was Rowan MacPherson’s Ilse, particularly her child-like acting in ‘Blue Wind’. You couldn’t help but watch them and love their character, despite only having three main scenes. And while it’s easy to focus on the teens and their angst, special shoutouts to Noa Shakhar and Eoin Callaghan are deserved for their adaptability as Adult Male and Adult Woman. Despite playing multiple characters, they were able to make them feel completely different in small ways.

The production felt less innovative in other aspects, though this isn’t necessarily a negative as this is still a good revival. The costuming by Ryan Webster and choreography by Meadhbh Lyons felt very reminiscent of the Broadway production but the familiarity and assuredness still works very well, with the choreography in ‘Touch Me’ particularly beautiful. That’s not to say that the production did not put their own spin on Spring Awakening in scenes. ‘The Dark I Know Well’ is wonderfully staged, with Marta and Ilse on a circular stage, surrounded by the male characters. Ilse’s staging throughout is creative, isolating her in a corner of the theatre bar and leaving her alone in group dances, to mimic her abandonment. The final moments of the show, where the actors reveal modern clothing under their period costumes, is moving, showing these issues of shame and education are still relevant today. It’s small moments like this that make me wish this production took more creative liberties.

This Spring Awakening may not be as innovative as other recent productions but is a great revival of a still-relevant show, mainly thanks to its fresh and energetic cast. And Taylor Jay Productions’ refreshing attitude to theatre-making deserves to be praised. I look forward to seeing what they create next.

Spring Awakening played at the Phoenix Arts Club from 22nd – 25th August. Keep an eye on https://www.taylorjayproductions.com/ to find out about their future productions.

Photos by Danny Kaan