Fiddler on the Roof

I’ve seen “Fiddler” often before and confess to having not been particularly keen to see it again.  I was, however, very wrong.  This production was something of a triumph.  From scene one I was won over by Jonathan Worthy’s interpretation of Tevye.  The show is filled with still-memorable songs, a huge helping of Jewish humour and that pathos which, in the right hands, can bring a tear to the eye.  Martyn Knight and Ruth Barber’s direction highlights these aspects. Set in1905, in the settlement of Anatevka, in part of Russia we now know to be Ukraine, we learn the Tsar will shortly decree all Jewish residents are to be moved out..  Tevye, the milkman, an impoverished father of five, tries to maintain his Jewish heritage, as new ideas encroach.  He struggles with three strong-willed elder daughters hell bent on marrying for love, each relationship seeming further removed from that Jewish tradition.  All of which he sums it up in the showstopping If I Were a Rich Man.

Tevye is brought vividly to life by Jonathan,  coping lovingly with his devoted but strong wife of 25 years, Golde (Carol Emerson) and those older girls, Tzeitel (Bekki Shenfine), Hodel (Hannah Ellis Brown) and Chava (Sophie McGrogan).  Golde is a perfect foil for world weary but humorous Tevye.  Not many dry eyes remain in the house after their duet of “Do You Love Me”, performed well, touchingly and to loud applause.  All five daughters are also very well played as the older ones choose to marry a penniless tailor, a radical student and a Christian farmer.

All three daughters interact well with their respective suitors, Perchik the revolutionary (James Hardy), Motel the tailor (Liam Gilbert) and Fyedka the farmer (Zach Hardy), The reveal of Motel and Tzeitel’s sewing machine, rather than their baby, is always a high point, as it was here..  So, three couples, determined to break tradition and make Yente, the Matchmaker (Christine Lewin) redundant.  It is particularly pleasing to see Christine break away from the housekeeper-type roles she tends to specialise in!

Many other cast members deserve mention.  Gary McGrogan as thwarted Lazar Wolf, the same age as Tevye but aspiring to marry young Tzeitel;  Sarah Cowell, very impressive, flying on a wire, as the ghost of Lazar Wolf’s late wife, Fruma Sarah.  The young men who played and danced the Cossacks.  Everyone else who fulfils their roles so well, helping to add to this very engaging production. I was particularly taken by the chorus singing, which was very impressive and moving, especially their rendition of Sunrise, Sunset.  The orchestra, under the baton of Andrew Soulsby, stagecrew, lighting and, particularly, sound all contributed seamlessly to a very enjoyable, often very funny but ultimately very moving production.

I have said it before but I have a love-hate relationship with Fiddler.  I leave the theatre quite sad, as the Jewish residents trundle from  Anatevka.  With historical hindsight, we know some will end up safe and prosperous in the New World but others will remain in Europe, facing the depredations of the Nazis in less than 35 years, never mind the  current unfortunate situation

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