Review: SEA WITCH at Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Based on Sarah Henning's novel (which is sold online with the tagline Wicked meets The Little Mermaid) the music and lyrics are by Segun Fawole who has previously appeared in the West End as a performer in Motown: The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre.

The producers assembled a cast of talented and seasoned performers including Natalie Paris as Evie, Michelle Visage as Tante Hansa, Amy Di Bartolomeo as Annemette, Mazz Murray as Queen Charlotte, Jay McGuiness as Iker, Djavan Van de Fliert as Nik and Natalie Kassanga as Malvina. Supporting them were a dazzling array of next generation turns and twirls adorned in costumes of military blue and white, with flailing gossamer trails (possibly borrowed from Aladdin or panto season - it was difficult to tell) in which they strutted to Dean Lee's non-stop, showcased choreographic routines, many of which stylistically owed a nod to Nicky Bentley's Pineapple street jazz from the late 90s but invariably looked like recycled pop diva videos - however energetic and well-executed.

So what's it about? Well in truth it was a tad messy. Something about two girls swimming, one of whom drowns the other (who has witch powers on the down low due to seeing most of her antecedents burned) is saved by a prince who then befriends her to the disgust of his mother the Queen. Later we learn that the drowned girl was saved below the waves by a benevolent coterie of sister princesses. She later returns to the surface to find love, or perhaps her real intention is to wreak revenge on those who didn't drown [winces involuntarily at terrible plot point].

However big, loud and illuminated this Sunday evening extravaganza, the unfortunate truth is that the show in its current form suffers from a chronic identity crisis and such crises don't come much more convoluted than this, with Frozen meets Hamilton somewhere in the mix of the aforementioned Little Mermaid / Wicked mash-up. In lieu of substantial characterisations the acting vacuum was filled with a determination by every vocalist to belt every song. On one notable occasion with mics in hand or on stands — presumably to remind us that half the company seems to have performed at one time or another in the show — we were treated to a thinly-veiled version of Six the Musical. But as concert presentations go and with a mere 5 days apparently in which to bring everything together (according to Ms Visage's pre-show address/disclaimer), the night certainly entertained.

Muddle, muddle, toil and befuddle — Unfortunately, with a plethora of musical numbers to get through, for this reviewer the book seems to be the main issue. There is minimal clarity or narrative justification to explain changes in emotion or the reason characters are moving from one song to another, or indeed end up marrying someone they hadn't previously shared the stage with! As a consequence, the last 30 minutes is a rushed affair where everything is crammed-in, in a vain attempt to explain motivational loose threads and imbue a modicum of coherent plot.

Perhaps it was the semi-staged nature of the production which meant the performers had very little opportunity to become fully invested and familiar with their characters which resulted in most presenting little more than a superficial nod to personality? Every few minutes there was a storming entrance of young men and women trying desperately to convey strength and masculinity, but given this was a night of excessive musical theatre tropes, they rarely rose above posturing and pouting in excessive make-up and shimmer, which left me pondering whether the delightful but underutilised Ms Visage had been filling her time backstage by assisting with maquillage.

There are some truly noteworthy songs with The Coronation/Tonight Belongs To You delivering the first (and strongest) full company number. Tidal Wave and There's A Light demonstrated song-writing chops, as did the first half closer Unstoppable. The biggest cheer of the night though came with Greater Than Love delivered with stillness (choreographer and director take note!) and power downstage centre, by Mazz Murray. During the song, she gets to reveal a hint of the person she once was before duty required her to assume a frosty and mistrustful villain's veneer.

So, in conclusion: Oodles of very promising material. Now someone just needs to decide whose story is being told, how to tell it coherently, what to cut, what to keep and the order in which to present it. Then they'll have a massive magical maritime hit instead of a messy, muddled and murky mélange.