Review: The Pianist (Park Theatre)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️

When it comes to adapting classic and well-loved movies into stage musicals, there is no shortage of choice with an abundance of them debuting in recent years. Usually, these are fun, feel-good, big and bold offerings such as Mean Girls, The Devil Wears Prada or Back To The Future, which makes the latest debut a rather unexpected choice. Though it is certainly popular enough, The Pianist may not have been the most obvious title to adapt into this medium, but sometimes the most surprising of choices are the most surprising in terms of success. With that in mind, would The Pianist be music to my ears, or would it all be a bit too off key?

Based on Wladyslaw Szpilman’s internationally acclaimed memoir from 1946, The Pianist wowed a new generation when a film adaptation was released in 2002, winning a host of awards in the process, including three Academy Awards. It tells the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman’s extraordinary journey through the Second World War as he fights for survival, nearly losing everything in the process including his own life multiple times.

Adapted by Thom Southerland, The Pianist is a quiet and introspective look at Szpilman’s journey and acts as a snapshot of one of the darkest times in history. Rather than opting for a grander story, this show instead chooses to focus on one man and his own survival, alluding to what is going on outside the various places he hides for safety but never explicitly showing anything. Obviously it is a subject the vast majority in the audience will be aware of so they can use their imaginations and fill in the gaps, but this heightened focus leads to an increased sense of intimacy and intensity in the story. The continued presence of hope in the story even when it all feels rather hopeless is a theme that feels as vital and relevant today, while the unimaginable sorrow and loss felt by one man acts as an example of how much was lost by so many, in a production I’m sure will be moving to many people.

I admire and applaud the intent behind this production. However, I couldn’t help but notice some fundamental flaws in the staging myself. The Pianist is certainly unconventional in its approach, keeping the approach fairly solemn and subdued throughout. It is certainly fitting for the theme, but it risks coming across a bit too one-note at times. This is a huge story intimately told, but that intimacy still needs to retain interest throughout and I did feel my mind wandering at times, struggling to keep focused. While I didn’t expect any big set pieces, I would have liked a little more light and shade throughout to keep the interest up as I was nowhere near as captivated as I hoped to have been.

The unconventional approach extends to the very nature of this production as a musical. Using the music created by Wladyslaw Szpilman is a novel and beautiful idea, and one that makes it feel all the more beautiful. However, The Pianist does not follow the traits of a musical and I would argue is more a play with music than anything else. We wait for lengthy chunks of time before the next bit of music is heard in a show that doesn’t have as much in as I would hope. The sense I got was that The Pianist in its present form is not quite certain of its identity and could use further development to become as strong and cohesive as it very easily should be. That said, there is no doubting the quality of Szpilman’s music, and it was rather beautiful to hear this realised, particularly in a space as intimate as Park Theatre. 

That music is realised by a wonderful cast of actor-musos, most notably Wladyslaw Szpilman’s family who all accompany him in the story to stunning results. Standouts amongst this strong cast are Rosalind Ford in a warm and emotive turn as Mother, and Nitai Levi in a striking and even scene-stealing turn as Henryk, Wladyslaw’s brother whose more heightened and slightly exaggerated approach to the character came the closest to realising how this story could have been portrayed more effectively for me. Levi’s performance boasted the urgency I felt was lacking elsewhere, demonstrating just how high the stakes are and how devastating the outcome could be.

But what of the pianist himself? Well, that role goes to Daniel Krikler… sort of. Inexplicably, for a show that fills itself with actor-musos, Krikler doesn’t play the piano apart from one sequence. It is a truly baffling choice given the majority of the cast are playing instruments. Perhaps the instinct was that putting their leading man behind a piano for the majority of the show would create a disconnect with the audience? Sadly, the disconnect came from him not playing the piano in this case. Had the rest of the cast not been playing instruments, this would not have been quite as noticeable, but the disparity between Krikler and the rest of the cast kept growing the notion in my head that this was a production unclear about its identity.

It is down to Musical Director and Copyist Malcolm Forbes-Peckham to play the piano throughout, with exceptional results. At times, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, which came at a disservice to Daniel Krikler whom my eyes should have been on. Krikler himself is a fantastic actor who I have admired and adored time and time again, most recently in the outstanding Redcliffe. However, something about his performance didn’t quite ring true for me this time around. The understated nature of his portrayal of Wladyslaw perhaps veered too much to one extreme, giving the impression of a disinterested and even bored characterisation. A very withdrawn characterisation may have been extremely subtle, but it lacked any sort of nuance or depth, missing the mark and making moments that should have been moving fall flat instead. My instinct suggests this would be more to do with the choices in direction rather than his performance instead, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

With the direction, the choice to mime things such as pulling out objects or opt to describe rather than show felt a bit too amateurish for a production such as this. The biggest fault was a lack of energy - I’m not suggesting the show needed a big dancey megamix finale as that is clearly not the tone or vibe of the show. However, there needed to be more urgency in just how high the stakes were. While I commend the approach to scale back and put more emphasis on the smaller moments, the balance was not quite met leading to a very static and restrained production. I will say though that there is a gorgeous use of design, with Andrzej Goulding's set and video creating a beautiful aesthetic - the gradual reveals of various parts of the set behind the wall is also an inspired touch.

The Pianist is a story loved by generations, and one that has moved many in multiple iterations. Having attended the show a couple of days after press night, I had already seen comments from fellow reviewers about how incredible and moving it is. Of course, theatre is subjective and there is no guarantee two people are ever going to align with their opinions, but the disappointment I felt for not sharing this view was very much felt, more so given my own background and affinity for the subject. That is not to say The Pianist is a bad show by any stretch - there are some solid moments to be found throughout, but the overall sense is that its identity has not quite been discovered yet, and the show could use a touch more tweaking so that every element is in tune.

The Pianist plays at Park Theatre until 28th November. Tickets from https://allthatdazzles.londontheatredirect.com/musical/the-pianist-tickets

Photos by Anthony Leary-White