SINGIN' IN THE RAIN - Royal Exchange Theatre (04/12/25)

Reimagined classic dazzles 'em and makes 'em laugh

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This musical theatre staple has reached such a status of iconicity, one could be easily forgiven for not realising that it actually took over 30 years before the original movie musical, produced by MGM studios in 1952, was adapted to the stage. It is however fair to say that, certainly in this country, we have more than made up for lost time, with no fewer than five separate, subsequent London productions having been staged across the course of the three decades following its initial west end premiere in the mid 80s.

The setting is Hollywood in 1927, and Monumental Pictures stand on a precipice of either success to match their name, or complete and utter catastrophe as, led by global silent film megastars Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, they attempt to navigate the introduction of talking pictures, with their bold new idea of a musical film acting as their sink or swim moment in this major period of cinematic transition. And this may well be the first time we have ever seen it staged in this way, with the in-the-round space central to the Royal Exchange providing a whole new set of challenges, as director Raz Shaw tackles staging a show that so heavily relies on a mix of both theatrical and cinematic elements without the luxury of a traditional AV setup.

The company of "Singin' in the Rain" at the Royal Exchange (credit: Johan Persson)

To explain what I mean by this, whilst prior productions have made use of video playback for their film scenes, Shaw has instead opted for realtime performance across the board for these, with flown in, curved monitors used predominantly for captioning, a la silent film era. Whilst fairly unconventional, this is a marvellously resourceful and imaginative means of staging these scenes, complete with ingenious use of greyscale costumes by Richard Kent (just part of a plethora of sophisticated attire on display), appropriately campish dialogue captioned in, and hilariously melodramatic overacting from performers, reminiscent of Hollywood's pre-talkies era.

Comparative with previous productions, it has to be said that Kent's set design is rather minimal in its presentation and functionality, though the moving parts that do feature serve fabulously to transport us back a century to the birth of cinema as we know it. What really sells the visual palate though is Jack Knowles' characteristically impressive, versatile lighting design that proves the most transformative creative element, from the Hollywood marquee-style lights, to his powerful use of spotlight and shadow.

There are moments when the stage does feel a touch sparse, especially during the opening scene and the premiere of Monumental's latest rinse and repeat rehash, we don't get nearly the sense of occasion or grandeur one would expect from a major LA opening night. This is easily forgiven once we see Alistair David's dizzying choreography begin to shine through; in a traditionally dance-heavy show, the brief has been hit and exceeded, with some of the best tap and jazz you are likely to have seen all year. And the jewel in the crown is arguably leading man Louis Gaunt, he displays stunning proficiency across multiple styles, and several showstopping tap routines of which the great Gene Kelly himself would have been immensely proud.

Carly Mercedes Dyer and Louis Gaunt (credit: Johan Persson)

He was joined on stage by a splendidly diverse, and all equally talented lineup of performers, with highlights including Carly Mercedes Dyer's gutsy yet dignified take on Kathy Seldon, and some superb vocals to boot, as well as Julius D'Silva and Carl Sanderson, the long suffering producer and director at the film studio, exasperatedly having to deal with divas and dreadful dialogue alike. Lina Lamont is always a role that tests the comedy chops of whomever takes her on, and Laura Baldwin was more than up for the challenge, sporting the trademark nasal Brooklyn screech synonymous with the character, yet managing to make it individual and, unlike her pictures, never feeling like she was copy/pasting prior iterations. Baldwin is delightfully bratty, goes hard on the humour, and always an absolute treat.

For me though, the performance of the day was Danny Collins as Don Lockwood's lifelong friend and musical director Cosmo Brown, a role originally made famous by the inimitable Donald O'Connor. What Collins manages so masterfully is to inject his own personality and sense of humour into the role, whilst simultaneously managing to make it feel vintage, the type of classic, elegant slapstick comedy we seldom see performed anymore, yet Collins makes it seem effortless. This may not be a revival for the ages, but it will make an undoubted mark on your festive season, and my goodness is it entertaining.

★★★★☆ (4*)

"Singin in the Rain" runs at the Royal Exchange Theatre until the 25th of January (tickets)

{PR/Gifted ticket}