The mystery of Edwin Drood
The Mystery of Edwin Drood is one of the largest productions I have seen at Circa, with 34 members of the cast (and one dog!).
It is a globally successful musical that has won five Tony Awards, and had long runs at West End and Broadway.
The name of the play, and its basis, come from Charles Dickens. It was his final novel, and he died before he finished it. Playwright Rupert Holmes turned it into a musical with a twist – the audience decided how it ends.
It is what you could call a meta-show – a show within a show. The New Zealand cast play a music hall cast performing the Dickens play.
There are 11 principal parts, being:
- Chairman of the Music Hall Royale – Gavin Rutherford
- Edwin Drood, murder victim – Awhimai Fraser
- Rosa Bud, betrothed of Drood – Barbara Graham
- John Jasper, uncle of Drood with a crush on Bud – Jack Buchanan
- The Princess Puffer, opium den matron – Jude Gibson
- Rev Septimus Crisparkle – Lloyd Scott
- Neville Landless, a suitor for Bud – Ben Paterson
- Helena Landless, sister of Neville – Flora Lloyd
- Bazzard – Alan Palmer
- Durdles – Andy Gartrell
- The Deputy – Frankie Cur
I thought the entire cast performed very well. Barbara Graham has an exceptional singing voice and excelled. Awhimai Fraser also stood out with her performance as Edwin Drood. But all the principals performed both acting and singing well.
Also worth a mention was the 20 strong ensemble. They gave the performance a real cabaret feel, and many of them spent almost the whole performance on stage, responding to the events of the play.
The directing, music, set and lighting were all done very well, combining to create a very captivating production.
The audience participation is a highlight – ranging from the characters introducing themselves before the play starts, to voting on how the play ends, with members of the ensemble tallying up the votes from different parts of the audience.
You get to vote on how the mystery detective is, who the killer is, and which two characters should have a romantic ending. I won’t reveal who our audience voted but I will will reveal who I voted for – which was Helena to be the detective, Rosa to be the killer and the romantic couple to be Neville and Helena (heh).
I often get restless if a play goes on for more than 90 minutes or so. This production is 140 minutes long (with an interval), but not once did I feel it was dragging on. The plot advances at a brisk rate, and the songs are so enjoyable, time flies. You could tell the entire audience was loving the performance, and there was a huge ovation at the end.
Highly recommended for an entertaining evening out.