Mark Curry (Elijah) and Alfie Blackwell (Sam Crow) in King of Pangea at King’s Head Theatre. Credit Steve GregsonUnder the direction of Richard Israel, (who, in the programme also speaks of his own parental loss), the cast of five adults and a child, breathe life into this fantasy tale, grounded in humanity.
We first encounter pre-college Sam Crow (Alfie Blackwell in a very promising professional debut) narrating and emulating his younger self (played by Daniel Lee / Tayt Joshua Silvester-Stoller) as he uses childhood fantasy to cope with anxiety. The nuclear family set-up includes his supportive mother Celia (Sophia Ragavelas) who first beats and then succumbs to a recurrence of cancer, and an overworked father Arthur (the ever dependable Dan Burton). On the periphery is a new potential girlfriend Amy (Emily Tang).
Post Celia’s death, Sam struggles to focus on studies and his burgeoning relationship and instead (for the purposes of the musical) submerges himself in adventure and a fanciful journey to Pangea where he hopes he’ll re-encounter his mother. Guided in this endeavour, he uses a childhood map, his mother’s poems, meets a Boat Captain and his shipmate Maya (Dan Burton and Emily Tang returning in more exotic garb) and most notably, the 1000 year old Elijah (a generously sage turn from Mark Curry).
Save the occasional dud lyric, the 18 songs are all serviceable, and include a playful, tongue tripping, pseudo-rap number to counterbalance some of the more cloying earnestness. Despite these efforts however, the show lacks a true show-stopper or any especially memorable tunes. MD Jordan Paul Clarke’s 4-piece keeps a jaunty pace helping to ensure that the story travels and the actors manage to traverse the various levels and potential traps in Carly Brownbridge’s drawer-heavy, compartmented set, which leans heavily on a map motif to convey the necessary transition from urban home to island setting, via a nautical interlude. Aided, or perhaps distractingly hampered in this endeavour, are Yvonne Gilbert’s sound designs, some of which (notably the boat noises during the journey to Pangea) serve to obfuscate dialogue.
Whilst borne of a commendable desire to celebrate the life of a much loved parent (and perhaps exorcise some latent associated trauma in the process), KING OF PANGEA in its present format, lacks the oomph and spark to mark it out as a Broadway or West End transfer. Twee is no inhibitor to success (take Benjamin Button as a marvellous example), but the creative team have more work to do if the show is to challenge such a production in the affections of the ticket-buying public. I for one, look forward to its further development.
The 1 hr 30 min show (without interval) runs at King’s Head until 6 July.
