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Camden Fringe
This dark musical showcases some wonderful talent, but is let down by its weak core.Summary
Rating
Good
There’s a rather novel set up for The Chaplain. Whilst the main musical accompaniment is tucked into the rear corner, dead centre of the stage is a cello player. It’s a bold move and certainly grabs your early attention as he sits stock still, waiting for the show to begin, whilst the remaining cast sit lined up on the rear row of seats in the always intimate Lion and Unicorn Theatre. There’s a real feel of menace from their black outfits and dead ahead stares.
It’s Victorian England, and we find ourselves in a prison cell where the Chaplain has come to give the last rites to three prisoners about to be hanged for their crimes. But each condemned prisoner has their own story to share before they swing, telling of why they committed the crime that has found them in this predicament. And as each is led off to their final destination a mysterious woman comforts them before confronting the Chaplain, questioning his right to cast such judgement.
There are some wonderful performances from the members of Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society (CUMTS), who do seem to enjoy their yearly run at Camden Fringe, with a new musical and demonstration of the talent on offer. Each prisoner is given their own song on which to build their individual stories, casting shade on their conviction. Edie was acting in self-defence, John was seeking revenge on his employer who killed his lover, while Jenny was simply trying to feed her brothers. The three stories as standalones work well, showing the class divide prevalent, where the poor would hang, whilst the rich would simply get away with it.
The problem is in what binds these three individual stories together, and that is the overarching story of the Chaplain. It’s simply not strong enough. The mysterious women who appears as each prisoner is led away hints at a darker side to this man of God, which is fine, but it’s never satisfactorily executed. It’s clear from almost the first bars that this Chaplain is going to be harbouring his own secrets, and the moment there’s mention of strange murders, well, come on, we all know where this is going. There’s always room for the obvious in a story, but it needs to offer something different to keep it fresh, and The Chaplain fails to do so. The ending when it comes, is both predictable and disappointingly played out.
It is not helped by the fact that whilst the role of the Chaplain is doubled up with cello playing duties, whilst his playing is hauntingly effective for the story, his singing voice is the weakest of the cast. He is all too often drowned out by the accompanying music, and given that he is the central role, it does feel kind of important we can make out his words!
What does work well is writer Gabriel Owens‘ music. It perfectly fits the requirements, a dark bleakness in its sound as we watch these poor souls condemned. It also allows for the prisoners to really give it some gusto and fill the room with their voices.
The Chaplain would benefit from a complete overhaul. Move the cello alongside the keyboards and rewrite that core so that the ending does justice to the individual elements. As it stands, the play still does enough to entertain, giving the chance for some fantastic vocal performances and offering a darker slant on the musical genre. But it could, and should, offer so much more.
Written and composed by: Gabriel Owens
Directed by: Catherine Mclean
Produced/ Assistant Director: Em Sparkes
The Chaplain plays at Lion and Unicorn Theatre for Camden Fringe until 17 August. Further information and tickets available here.
Read more about this show in our recent interview with Gabriel Owens and Em Sparkes here.
