You will believe a bear can talk in this timely celebration of the benefits of kindness. Rating
Excellent!
It’s been nearly 70 years since Michael Bond first introduced Paddington Bear to the world. Today at the Savoy Theatre, it’s clear he is still utterly adored and his example as a model citizen is more relevant than ever. This new musical, with book by Jessica Swale and music & lyrics by Tom Fletcher, is a crowd pleasing, colourful – if sentimental – celebration of the paw-fectly polite bear and all the wonderful values instilled in him by his Aunt Lucy.
The plot is a rewrite of the 2014 movie. Paddington arrives alone and vulnerable in London but is taken in by the Browns. Despite being different and a little problematic, they accept him as family and help him in tracking down an explorer who’d met his relatives in Peru. The explorer’s dreadful daughter, however, plans to catch the rare bear, stuff him, and keep him in the Natural History Museum. Along the journey to prevent this, we meet many familiar characters, including the Brown family, Mrs Bird, the cantankerous Mr Curry, and the gentle Mr Gruber. A talented cast is supported superbly by an energetic ensemble.
The story may be nothing new, but ‘maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner’ (adopted Scouse) that the ethos is emotionally resonant from the off. It opens with a song about being welcome and progresses from there, visualising diversity, friendship, and a caring community. Within moments of Mr Gruber (Teddy Kempner) inviting Paddington into his curiosity shop (a lovely metaphor for the city), he’s accepted him for what he is and bonded over both being refugees. This is the London I know, and I have to say, I had a little tear in my eye more than once from here on! The focus throughout is on the preciousness of love and caring for each other, demonstrating the benefits reaped by this while rejecting colonialism. It’s genuinely heartwarming in its honesty.
A huge budget enables exciting, playful set (Tom Pye) and costume (Gabriella Slade) design that whirls and changes like marmalade spreading across a sandwich. Fletcher’s music brings a poppy, upbeat vibe, even if none of the songs are particularly memorable – I actually left humming Disney’s ‘Under the Sea’..?
However, it’s Tahra Zafar’s puppetry technology that excels above all: it’s completely captivating, and you will believe a bear can talk. With Abbie Purvis in the skin on stage for this performance and the bear’s face and voice managed from offstage by James Hameed, this is an inventive, masterful piece of theatre that brings our hero convincingly to life. Hameed’s bear is gentle and friendly (although not averse to a hard stare!), and his singing voice is as warm as the Peruvian sun. However, it’s the fabulous physical performance that gives Paddington unique believability. Purvis is phenomenal, telling the story through perfectly-pitched movement despite restricted visibility. And movingly, when Hameed as the Young Man walks beside Paddington, it’s as if humanity itself has been extracted and exposed for reflection.
The other standout performance is Tom Edden as Mr Curry, who, with his greasy comb-over, is the perfect balance of creepy menace and ridiculous, bringing all the biggest laughs, and Victoria Hamilton Barritt as Millicent Clyde does an excellent job beside him. The show is recommended for ages 6+, but be warned, it’s long at 2 hours and 40 minutes. It could easily trim a couple of songs to be more manageable. Some younger audience members, when I attended, were a little distressed by full blackout and explosions too. That aside, Paddington The Musical is a delightful, high-energy adventure celebrating the possibility of personal change. It comes with loads of laughter and is jam (or marmalade) -packed with kindness and love.
Book by Jessica Swale
Music & lyrics by Tom Fletcher
Directed by Luke Sheppard
Musical Supervision & Orchestration by Matt Brind
Musical Direction by Laura Bangay
Choreography by Ellen Kane
Scenic Design by Tom Pye
Costme Design by Gabriella Slade
Paddington & Puppet Design by Tahra Zafar
Lighting Design by Neil Austin
Sound Design by Gareth Owen
Video & Projection Design by Ash J Woodward
Paddington the Musical runs at the Savoy Theatre until Monday 25 May
