Big Fish

This musical is based on Daniel Wallace's 1998 novel Big Fish. The stage musical was released in 2013 with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and the book by John August. It is a heart warming and magical musical set in Alabama and revolves around the relationship between Edward Bloom and his son, William. The story keeps moving  between two timelines,  the present-day, real world with the sixty-year-old Edward  and in the earlier times we see Edward as  a teenager. He always lives life to its fullest as he loves  thrilling everyone,  with his incredible tales about meeting a Witch, a Giant, a Mermaid, and the love of his life, Sandra.  Later William needs to find out for himself which of these stories are true and he uncovers secrets that his father had never before revealed.

The present day Edward was played by Gabriel Sawrey-Cookson. Edward’s wife Sandra is played by Freya Balding. Unfortunaetely the original young Sandra was unable to continue, so with just 6 days notice Freya took on the part playing both the younger and older Sandra. A big well done to her for picking up the additional role at such short notice. Gabriel is extremely confident in his performance and Freya  plays her role with warmth and compassion as she has to cope with Edward’s flamboyant eccentricities.  William (Samuel Earthroll) gives a very believable, polished performance along with Ellie Watson’s beautiful portrayal of his wife Josephine. All four cope very well with the emotional side of their characters as Edward has to face up to his cancer in the last few days of his life.  Both the young Edward  (Clement Anderson) and young William (Joshua Walters)  thrived in their respective roles.

Mention must also go to the Witch played by Thando Sibanda who has an amazing voice. Qaisar Maniyar played Karl the Giant, a brilliant performance as he walked around on stilts. We also see Zak Wilson who was Amos the Circus Ringmaster and Sophia  Whatling as Jenny. This young and talented cast of just under 60 students are amazing, with their unrelenting enthusiasm and the energy they put into all their characters. With a coven of witches, circus perfromers,  American cheerleaders and numerous other characters there was certainly plenty of scope to keep  the ensemble busy.  The production also included a 12 piece orchestra under the baton of Gemma Martino. Technically it was a tricky score but both the orchestra and singers tackled the intricate music and harmonies confidently producing some quality performances. The choreography was well designed and suited the large cast in what was a fairly small stage area  and was effectively performed.

The school also encourage the students to take on production roles with the stage crew, lighting and sound being run by them and also assisting with props and costumes.  There  were some fabulous costumes and I must mention an enormous movable elephant in a similar design to those seen in The Lion King which was operated by several of the cast.

Director Pippa had felt, having produced several classical children’s  productions in the last few years, that she wanted to tackle a storyline with complex and mature themes to take them out of their comfort zone and to deal with emotional issues whilst still producing an entertaining and enjoyable show.  They certainly all took this onboard and can all be very proud of what they achieved together. Pippa had also arranged a live Q & A session with Daniel Wallace the American author of the original book to help give students an understanding of the play and characters.  

Thank you for inviting us, it was good to see so much talent being encouraged by all the departments at Farlingaye.

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