Chess, The Musical

Chess, The Musical was created by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame, although its complicated, challenging music is a far cry from the pop music of that supergroup.  With Tim Rice contributing to the lyrics and providing the book, the show presents a full-on, almost entirely sung-through experience to the audience, and a massive test to any dramatic society brave enough to stage it.  That the Norbury Players not only took on that challenge, but rose to it magnificently, is a huge credit to everyone in the group.

Although it is very complex musically, there is a relatively simple tale at the heart of Chess.  The story begins with a Cold War-era chess tournament between brash American Freddie Trumper (Francis Blincoe) and his relatively cool-headed Soviet challenger Anatoly Sergievsky (David Bradley).  Forming the third part of a love triangle between these two men is Florence Vassey (Amanda Blockley), Trumper’s manager and sometime lover, who embarks on a doomed love affair with Anatoly.  She also becomes the victim of a blackmail plot, as her father’s release from imprisonment is promised in return for Anatoly deliberately losing a match.

The success of any production of Chess would surely stand or fall on the quality of these three performances, and I am happy to say that they absolutely delivered.  Francis gave Trumper (a good name for a self-centred American!) a brash, strutting intensity that worked very well, particularly in ‘One Night in Bangkok’.  He also did well in laying bare the troubled youth that lay behind his character in the emotional ‘Pity the Child’.  By contrast, David’s Anatoly was a more thoughtful character, torn between his wife and children back home and his new lover in the chess world, not to mention an agonising decision to defect to the West.  His voice had a rich tone which worked for the characterisation.  His ‘Anthem’ that ends the first half was an especially powerful, emotionally charged performance.

But the real core of the show lies in the character of Florence Vassey, the woman with a foot in both camps but who ultimately becomes a pawn in a political game.  Amanda gave an absolute powerhouse performance in this role, showing incredibly strong singing and emotional range.  The famous duet with Anatoly’s wife Svetlana (Jo Hargreaves), ‘I Know Him So Well’, was impeccably performed by both actors and sent a shiver down the spine.  In three or so years as a NODA rep, I don’t think I’ve seen a better performance of a single song (and I have seen a lot of very good performances).  Bravo!

There were good performances also from the other principal roles, as Jake Jones’ Walter de Courcey, an American television representative traded blow with Paul Steele’s Alexander Molokov, Anatoly’s scheming assistant.  Kate Green was also excellent as the wry Arbiter, who acted as something of a chorus, commenting on, as well as being part of, the dramatic scenes at the Chess tournaments.  Alongside them was a twelve-strong company who provided great, disciplined support, in particular delivering some complicated choreography from Lois Press.  Their moves often echoed those of chess pieces, with the angular nature of the score being well reflected in the choreography.  The chess-board floor worked really well to highlight those movements. 

Director Christopher Newbould clearly had a strong vision of how he wanted to present this musical, from the intense dramatic interaction between the principals, through to the formally structured movements of the supporting cast.  This was really well delivered, with the cast clearly committing themselves fully to his ideas.  There was an interesting use of cameras and screens to provide another perspective of the action on stage, emphasising the goldfish bowl in which the characters lived their lives.  I also really liked the use of silhouettes generated by the actors behind a gauze screen, again bringing to mind chess pieces and enhancing the action with well-considered movement. 

The set worked very well to showcase the action – as well as the checkerboard floor there was a stepped platform towards the rear which allowed for interesting variations in height.  Behind that sat the very impressive thirteen-piece band, led by Musical Director Laurence Nicholas.  The complex score was expertly delivered, and the best compliment I can pay to Laurence is that this came as no surprise.  Nor did the rousing ovation given to the band by an appreciative audience.  A word too for the costuming – I loved the largely black and white colour scheme, again echoing chess pieces, against which the occasional splash of colour, such as Freddie’s red leather jacket, had an enhanced impact. 

My congratulations to everyone at the Norbury theatre for even attempting such a difficult show, never mind pulling it off which such skill.  At the time of writing there is another week of performances still to come, and it would be a shame if the good people of Droitwich and the surrounding area missed out on such a rarely staged theatrical event.  So if you are reading this in time, do yourself a favour and take the opportunity to go along and see some high class musical theatre! 

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