A confusing production that contains clashing tones, and so is only sometimes appealing.Rating
Good!
November in Moominvalley was the final book in the much-loved Moomins series and saw author Tove Jansson wistfully say goodbye to her beloved characters by telling of a world where they weren’t present. Nobody seems to quite know why the Moomins are missing, either with only hints of the possibilities that they might have migrated or hibernated for the winter and may return in the spring.
Into this world come six humans who each have a connection with the Moomins. Yet, conflicting with the normally sweet-natured, if occasionally maudlin tone of the books and somewhat oddly, half of the characters are loud, brash and weirdly irritating. It leads to a play with a very strange tone throughout: in the original novel, there was friction between all of these individuals, but nowhere near the complete clash that disrupts this production.
The show’s biggest problem is the way it tackles Grandpa Grumble (Martin Callaghan), a senile elderly man who’s an extremely unlikeable character from the get-go. Playwright Hans Jacob Hoeglund either makes fun of his confused state of mind or portrays him as a cruel, domineering and even briefly violent man whom the others either fear or patronise. The jokes at his expense seem mean, while right at the very end, the suggestion that his awful behaviour should never be challenged is quite troublesome.
Not as problematic but still frustrating is Stuart Simmonds‘ needy Hemulen, which feels like a performance from out of pantomime where everything is exaggerated to an almost exhausting degree. Yet as with Grandpa Grumble, the resolution to his story feels rushed, and it’s all telling and no actual showing. Meanwhile, although initially sympathetic, the bratty Toft (Izzy Winters) suffers temper tantrums as they’re desperate to be part of a perfect family, but the closure to their story once again seemingly comes out of nowhere.
I’ve never seen a production where the old football cliché ‘It’s a game of two halves’ applies so perfectly, because the other three characters are an absolute delight. Matthew Heywood‘s Snufkin may have let down his best pal Moomintroll in the past, but he recognises his own faults, attempting to change them, and he has a genuinely lovely song which caps his arc. Filkyjonk (Jane Quinn) presumes everyone hates her, and doesn’t want to be at home cleaning all the time, and while the way this is dealt with might be a little dated, she quickly becomes extremely likeable and gets the best solo song of the play. Although also suffering from an unsatisfying denouement, everything else Abigail Yeo‘s joyful Mymble is involved with is a pleasure to see.
Musically, this is also a somewhat odd combination. There are some fantastic songs which involve the whole cast, all of whom have voices that you could imagine hearing in a West End musical, and Winters and Quinn have two standout solo numbers. But the other songs lack invention and sound far too similar, with many of them stopping for the odd line of spoken dialogue, where it feels inexplicable as to why that wasn’t sung too.
One moment shouty and cruel, the next tender and loving, this is a play where the disparate moods frequently crash into each other clumsily. There are aspects of the production that border on the beautiful, but the mishandling of some of the characters makes it extremely uneven. And given how much time these people spend celebrating the Moomins, I couldn’t help but feel I’d have been far happier seeing them on stage rather than this unusual bunch of oddball characters.
Based on the novel by Tove Jansson
Book, Music, & Lyrics by Hans Jacob Hoeglund
Direction by Amanda Noar
Orchestrations by Jen Green
Set & Costume Design by Lu Herbert
Lighting Design by Chris McDonnell
Co-Produced by Nummulite and Chromolum
Moominvalley in November runs at Upstairs at the Gatehouse Theatre, Highgate
until Sunday 16 November
