REVIEW: The Dreamers, St James Theatre ✭✭

The Dreamers

St James’ Theatre

1st July

2 Stars

A petition to the organisers of next year’s Olivier Awards; please can we have a category for ‘Best Air Conditioning’. After an unbearably sweltering walk on the much hyped ‘hottest day of the year’ how nice to walk into a comfortable theatre that didn’t resemble a Finnish sauna.

This climate-bending Nirvana was home to The Dreamers, an original music from James Beeny and Gina Georgio, based on the true story of war hero Reggie Salomons. Set during 1914-15, it shows the outbreak of the First World War and the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign through the eyes of the soldiers and the families they left behind.

One of the most unique aspects of this production is unfortunately also one of the most jarring. Rather than being acted on stage, most of the dialogue comes from a series of narrators, both audio and video, who help to move the plot forward. Whilst this is an interesting device, it falls flat for a number of reasons. The bulk of the narration is factual and historical, meaning it feels more like a history lesson with songs rather than a coherent musical. There are also just too many voices; a cast of about twenty, a band of six and some additional off-stage and on-screen narrators.

This crowdedness means most of the characters are robbed of any meaningful dialogue, so there is no opportunity for any of them to develop or interact in any significant way. Even having sat through a two-hour show about him, I still have no real idea what Reggie Salomons was like as a person, where he came from or what motivated him.

Another snag was the use of celebrity narrators – it’s hard to get immersed in a historical World War I production when you’re looking at a video of Michael Buerk. Even when these cameos are deployed, they could perhaps have been used more effectively. For example, it seemed a strange choice to have a pair of journalists on screen talking about the importance of restricting information during wartime!

Whilst The Dreamers was more like a narrated concert than the billed musical, it still had a fair amount to commend. The show’s music is provided by a six-piece band, who remain on stage throughout. Whilst they started out as a bit of a distraction (especially in their modern clothes!), their folksy ethereal music provided a pleasing soundtrack. The more haunting numbers resonated more with me than the guitar-heavy ones, brought to life through a brilliant strings section and the beautiful voice of vocalist and pianist Gina Georgio (also co-writer).

The lyrics are not initially as strong as the score, although they do noticeably improve in Act Two. The first couple of songs tread a familiar path; some fairly unremarkable ballads about the brotherhood of being a soldier and the need to stand together. In the second half, however some more interesting themes emerge – the role of women during the conflict and the complexity and futility of warfare. The music also starts to mix up as well, with a charming knees-up type ditty entitled ‘Lads on Tour’ providing a welcome change.

Despite the limited staging opportunities, there were also a few clever twists from director Mark Piper. The finale was extremely strong; I won’t spoil it here but an interesting use of costume and video footage combines to provide the strongest scene of the whole evening. There was also a well-staged moment where the faces of some of the celebrity narrators faded into the faces of wartime officials, including a young Winston Churchill – one can easily forget his unpopularity during World War One. Kathy Mighall’s costumes were crisp and looked period-perfect and the lighting from Morgan Jones was used to maximum effect.

The programme is lacking in cast and character information, so it is difficult to credit individual performances. However, the young cast was generally solid, although it could have benefited from being a touch smaller and tighter. The actor playing Reggie Salomons had a wonderful higher register and his adversary Jack Hastings was also very well performed. There was also a remarkable performance from one of the ensemble (a young lady in a red dress), who gave a haunting and operatic rendition of ‘Lost in the Darkness’ in Act Two.

The Dreamers is a real mixed bag. Musically it is often very strong; the musical direction and band are both terrific. However, lyrically and dramatically it falls short, especially the paper-thin first act. Despite this, it would be cruel to be too dismissive of The Dreamers. The play transferred from Tunbridge Wells; for two writers in their 20s to appear on the West End is a remarkable achievement. They clearly have talent and potential; I hope they’ll keep following their own dreams and that we’ll see plenty more from them in years to come.

The Dreamers runs until 11th July at the St James Theatre