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ED2014 3/5 Reviews ED2014 Musical Reviews
Dido And Aeneas (The About Turn Theatre Company)
By Jon Stapley | Published on Wednesday 20 August 2014
Purcell’s opera is given a WWII-era makeover in About Turn’s surprisingly elaborate production. The talented young company tackles the score with gusto,though special credit should go to Victoria Pym’s delightfully malevolent sorceress. I do have to question some of the more extravagant staging decisions though. For instance, a large suspended cloth obscures the stage when the audience enters, then spectacularly drops to reveal the cast. It’s a nice moment, but thereafter the cloth serves no purpose except to give the actors something to trip over. Also, while I did like the WWII aesthetic, Aeneas walked into one scene looking quite a lot like Biggles, which undermined the drama a bit. Still, the singing is faultless and the story a classic.
theSpace @ Venue 45, until 23 Aug.
tw rating 3/5 | [Jon Stapley]
