Fiddler on the Roof – Palace Theatre

This 2024 Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production has been cleverly restaged for an extensive UK tour, landing at the grand old Palace Theatre on Oxford Road for a two week stay from this evening,  Whilst retaining all of the energy that makes this one of the most popular and profitable musicals in theatre history, Director Jordan Fein manages to place a liberal and humanitarian message about the plight of refugees in amongst a fantastic evening’s entertainment.

The story centres around Anatevka, a village in Tsarist Russia at the start of the 20th Century, where Tevye (Matthew Woodyat) is the local Milkman, a pious soul struggling to bring up his five daughters with his wife Golde (Jodie Jacobs) in poverty, subject to the cruel whims of an uncaring system. His three oldest girls sorely test his devout belief in his Jewish faith: Tzeitel (Natasha Jules. Bernard), Hodel (Georgia Bruce) and Chaka (Hannah Bristow), each wilfully falling in love with unsuitable partners and eschewing the choices of the local Matchmaker Yente (Beverly Klein).

Jerry Bock (Music) and Joseph Stein (Book) surely created the most powerful introduction in musical theatre, with the first three songs of the show, ‘Tradition’, ‘Matchmaker, Matchmaker’ and the sublime ‘If I Were a Rich Man’ delineating all the village characters and establishing the premise, in a spellbinding opening twenty minutes. Tevye’s conservatism is challenged throughout, each time his abiding love for his daughters forces him to accept the ideas of a new Russia from his unsuitable prospective son-in-laws. Perchik (Greg Bernstein) is a student radical presaging the revolution that will engulf the country; Motel (Dan Wolff) looks towards technology to lift him and Tzetel from poverty and Fyedka (Gregor Milne) is a gentile, breaking Tevye’s religious doctrines, each pushes Tevye to move towards modernity.

This production heavily leans into the humour present in Tevye’s character, his direct pleas to God and the audience are delivered waspishly and with impeccable timing, whilst the sequence convincing Golde to allow Tzeitel’s marriage (Tevye’s Dream) is full-on slapstick, utilising the entire cast in a ghostly charade. This approach allows the juxtaposition of the tragedy to land all the more convincingly with Director Fein channelling the plight of a people forced to flee their homes into the modern political landscape. When initially staged in Summer 2024, this production clearly had the Ukraine war as its inspiration, now more recent international events also resonate, as well as reminding us that the ‘boats’ some people wish to stop forcibly contain refugees like Tevye, Golde and their compatriots.

The Set Design (Tom Scutt) is simply stunning, like his previous award-winning work on Cabaret it breathes new life and meaning into a classic Broadway musical. The simple open setting is overhung with an enormous oppressive metallic roof, the words ANATEVKA carved out in monumental text, acting as a reminder of the weight of the state on the village below. Above the roof is a cornfield where the Fiddler (Roman Lytwyniw) looks down and laments as his plaintive song plays, Lytwyniw’s instrument is delineated as a character in itself, combining beautifully in the second act with the clarinet of Hannah Bristow to signal Chevka’s melancholy elopement from the village. The orchestration and set are matched by the choreography of Julia Cheng which moves the large cast around the set, effortlessly invoking comedy and solemnity as the scene requires with the show highlight ‘The Bottle Dance’ bringing the audience to a huge ovation at its conclusion.

It has been a while since I have reviewed a big Broadway musical, a ‘by the numbers’ revival does nothing to stir the blood, challenge the intellect or put a smile on my face. This revival is a very different animal, giving a very modern sensibility to a classic show and combining intelligence, heart, and soul in a perfect musical mix. Tickets for this production are not cheap but the quality is on display for all to see, an absolutely superb production.

Reviewer: Paul Wilcox

Reviewed: 21st October 2025

North West End UK Rating: