Premiering at the Edinburgh Playhouse, the musical theatre adaptation of Baz Lurhmann’s 2001 film Moulin Rouge, kicks off the first ever tour in the show’s history this month. Set in 1899 Paris in the infamous Moulin Rouge cabaret, we follow the secret love affair between the cabaret’s star performer Satine (played by Verity Thompson), and bohemian writer Christian (played by Nate Landskroner). Despite the grandiosity of the Moulin Rouge, it is struggling financially so owner Harold Zidler (Cameron Blakely) arranges for Satine to seduce The Duke (James Bryers) and in return the Duke will provide Zidler with a large investment to put towards their next show. Satine has to choose between living a life of poverty with her true love Christian or submitting to the Duke in order to save the cabaret. Little do the men know that Satine is dying, adding to the turmoil and tragedy of the story. Filled with classic pop songs from across the decades, drama, and spectacle, Moulin Rouge was a hit with the audience.
As soon as you enter the theatre the tone is set with a replica of the Moulin Rouge’s iconic windmill spinning in the queen’s box, with a giant elephant statue sitting parallel. The ensemble skulk around the stage pre-show all sultry and salacious as if we are the voyeuristic customers of the Moulin Rouge. All this preparing us for a brooding and mysterious performance which tells a tale of the extravagance of high society, contrasted with the dark underbelly of poverty in France – however I’m not sure this is what we received. There’s no doubt we received extravagance, with a plethora of large towering sets, confetti cannons, and even sword swallowing. But considering the show’s main theme being the struggling artists in the seedy world of the cabaret, there was a surprising lack of grit and fray – everything was a little too polished. Almost every other number was an action-packed dance routine with show-stopping trick after trick. And although the feats of the dancers were incredible, it was extremely hard to absorb, what with everything else happening on stage. It isn’t so show-stopping if the show never stops. The stand-out moments in the routines aren’t given space to feature and the audience aren’t given time to breathe so we lose focus and thus the spectacle becomes redundant.
With the smattering of fourth-wall breaks throughout the show, it seems suggested that we as the audience are viewers at the Moulin Rouge, not the Edinburgh Playhouse, which does in a way lend itself to the non-stop action – we aren’t watching a musical we’re watching a cabaret – a cabaret which is trying to distract us from the impoverished society and the financial ruin of the Moulin Rouge. Although the story was narrated by Christian at certain points, this wasn’t a recurring motif. By the end of the show we realise that this story we have seen is Christian’s retelling of his and Satine’s love as if written by Christina himself, however, since his narration was sparse this realisation comes too late to us. Again, this production was too busy – in this sense trying to incorporate too many storytelling devices into one show. The production chose to incorporate us fully as a confined third party in the Moulin Rouge, hiding us from the struggles behind the curtain, but simultaneously treated us as an outside spectre who witnessed every scandal. Perhaps if there was a balance between the two it may have worked in harmony, but for me the direct address didn’t hit on the darker themes and thus seemed misplaced and confused.
The production design of this show however, was marvellous, with the lighting, designed by Justin Townsend, being a stand-out. While the maximalist approach to the direction of the show may have become convoluted, the production design managed to hit the nail on the head. Adding visual interest that assisted the show rather than distracted from it, the lighting was bold and dynamic, bringing drama and artistry to this production. Highlights included the ‘toxic’ green lighting included in the Absinthe scene, and the work with shadows which in the scene where Satine joins aristocratic society, it feels almost reminiscent of Sunday in the Park with George. The set (Derek McLane) of course was grand with great attention to detail in its design – really feeling like it had taken great care to consider the audience’s perception of it, with depth and larger-than-life pieces made with breathtaking detail. While discussing the more technical elements of the show I do want to mention the sound – I tend to find the Edinburgh Playhouse notorious for poor sound mixing, with the dialogue and lyrics in the opening number barely decipherable, however this did improve as the show progressed, but for a musical it certainly was hard to pick up on the band, with each instrument being rather hard to hear with clarity, instead giving the effect of an underscore rather than a main feature.
In spite of all my critiquing, this does seem to be a hit with the general audience, with many a tear shed by the patrons around me. The songs are well loved and although not to my taste, in this context, definitely fun for an audience to recognise.
The main challenge with this musical is it being adapted from such a well-known movie, and the show certainly relies on its audience being familiar with the movie narrative-wise. The film is incredibly reliant on filmic elements to convey the crazed and disorienting feeling within the Moulin Rouge, so when these elements that can only be used in film such as editing are taken away, they need to be replaced by something to still convey that same feeling. While the lighting did this to some extent, I feel the direction missed the mark on this. Nonetheless, this was a show with incredible technical feats, and with it being adapted and featuring well-known music, it creates a nostalgic familiarity that an audience warms to. Certainly not my cup of tea but with its multitude of awards and credits earned by both the musical itself and the cast and crew, it can’t be denied it will definitely fill someone else’s cup. And with it performing at the Playhouse until June 14th, there’s plenty of time to decide for yourself if you ‘can can can’ warm to it.
Reviewer: Jessie Martin
Reviewed: 30th April 2025
North West End UK Rating: