A fantastic trip to the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival concluded for me with the Edinburgh University Footlights production of ‘Pippin’, Stephen Schwartz and Bob Fosse’s groundbreaking 1972 fantasy musical.
Unfortunately, this production had none of the soul, wit and energy required to carry the audience, and with a couple of notable exceptions, the performance lacked magic.
Pippin’s odyssey of self discovery takes him from naivety to self awareness, watched by the mysterious Leading Player (Gemma Iseka Bekano), controlling the narrative and his development, Bekano gives good value with a strong vocal which is dominant when onstage. Dan Bryant as Pippin looks the part and acted well but is limited vocally and struggles to fully realise the beauty of the score, especially during ‘Corner of the Sky’. Both Orly Bean as Berthe (No Time At All) and Alison Lavercombe as Catherine (I Guess I’ll Miss The Man) were the undoubted vocal highlights, but their strong performances only served to highlight the weakness in other areas, Director Amy Stinton should have offered more insight into the cultural significance of this show than was present. The choreography of the large ensemble should be the highlight of this show, but the sharpness of Fosse was lost and none of the trademark wit was present.
My standard for student theatre at this year’s Fringe Festival were extremely high, and mostly those expectations were met in both the revivals and new musicals I saw, unfortunately this production missed the target.
Reviewer: Paul Wilcox
Reviewed: 19th August 2024
North West End UK Rating: