Fiddler on the Roof

Of the many musicals over the years, Fiddler on the Roof is a firm favourite with its familiar songs and distinctive characters.  Set in Anatevka, a small fictional Russian village in Imperial Russia, in what is modern Ukraine today, at the turn of the century, it is both poignant and amusing, following the fortunes of Tevye (Bobby Knott), a milkman, and his wife Golde (Sarah Knott) and their five daughters.  Tevye tries to cling on to his Jewish traditions against the backdrop of changing outside influences and dealing with his three older daughters who all want to marry for love, rejecting the choices of the scheming matchmaker Yente (Krystyna O’Brien) and choosing husbands quite unsuited to Tevye’s traditional beliefs.  Krystyna O’Brien was suitably ‘evil’, trying to make trouble and furious at not getting her own way.

Tzeitel (Clementine Acton), the eldest, is betrothed to Lazer Wolf, (Mike Sutton) a widowed butcher, older than her own father.  Tzeitel and her childhood sweetheart Motel (Harry Montague), a penniless tailor, pledge themselves to each other and persuade Tevye to agree to the match.  After inventing a nightmare in which Tevye describes being visited by Golde’s grandmother (Wendy Davies) to bless the marriage of her namesake but to Motel, not Lazer Wolf, and the appearance from the grave of Lazer Wolf’s formidable wife Fruma Sarah, (Niki Bradley), the superstitious Golde gives in and agrees to let Tzeitel marry Motel.

Rumours reach the village that Jews are being expelled and the Russian Constable (Mark Taylor), who has sympathy for the Jewish community but is powerless to prevent the hostility towards them, warns Tevye that there will soon be a ‘demonstration’.  Sure enough, on the day of Tzeitel and Motel’s wedding, a group of Russians disrupt the celebrations, damaging the property.

In the meantime, the second daughter Hodel (Grace Tosh) has fallen in love with Perchik (C J Bartholomew), who tutors the two younger girls.  He has Marxist leanings and persuades Hodel to dance with him in defiance of the rule about opposite sexes dancing together.  And to make Tevye’s life even more difficult, third daughter Chava (Amelia Knott) elopes with Fyedka, (Harry Wilson) a non-jew, and is banished from the family, Tevye declaring that she is dead to him.

The day arrives when the Constable tells them that they have three days to pack up and leave.  Tevye, Golde and the two youngest girls leave for America; Tzeitel and Motel, with their baby, go to Poland but promise to join the rest of the family when they have saved up enough money; Chava and Fyedka also leave for Poland; Hodel joins Perchik in Siberia where he has been exiled.

From the rooftops the young Fiddler (Freddie Birley) expertly imitated the violin playing of Barbara Steel in the three-piece band, a delightful perky performance.  I can’t fault the acting of any of the cast – principals and supporters alike.  They all played their roles to perfection and never once were distracted or lost the thread.

This is a story which was constantly repeated throughout Russia at this period.  The fact that it has been turned into a hugely popular musical with endearing characters doesn’t make it any less tragic.

From the moment Tevye entered the scene and began his conversations with God, I knew we were in for a treat and could relax.  Bobby Knott was a natural, going through all the emotions – humour, sadness, anger, acceptance.  His singing was faultless and he was the lynch pin who held the whole show together.  The very strong opening chorus of Tradition set the standard for the rest of the evening and it never faltered.  The men surpassed themselves with their dancing – the bottle dance and the Cossack dance were flawless and expertly executed.  Well done Dance Captain Harry Montague for what must have been hours of rehearsal to bring them up to this high standard.

The set was uncomplicated with fabulous images projected on to the back of the stage, representing the changing scenes.  Given the lack of space there is backstage, large props were understandably simple and came and went seamlessly – tables, chairs and benches in the schoolroom and wedding for example.  The three musicians, under the direction of Brian Steel, were truly excellent.  They never overpowered the singing but made it sound as though they were a full-scale orchestra!  The combination of violin and clarinet was a perfect match.  Given the very large cast – nearly 30 – sourcing the costumes will have been a huge task, particularly authentic Jewish outfits for the men. Well done Hilary Solt and her team.

Ewhurst Village Hall stage is quite small with very little acting space.  Full use was made of every inch and a lot of the action took place on the floor of the Hall itself, with audience seated all round. How they manoeuvred the bed, complete with Tevye and Golde in it, into the area was nothing short of miraculous!  And then along comes the ghost of Fruma Sarah on the tallest stilts I have ever seen, making it all look so easy.  A magical touch!

Meg Bray has pulled off another triumph.  Not only did she direct the show but she was also the choreographer which was no mean feat and in this instance was more than enough as a role on its own. The dance routines by the men were outstanding, brilliantly co-ordinated and disciplined.  It must have taken hours or rehearsing to bring them up to this high standard.  It was the third time Meg has directed Fiddler which she describes as her favourite musical and it certainly showed.  Although the story is about one family in a remote Russian village, it captures a moment in history which was being repeated all over the country at the time.  It demonstrated the resilience and stoicism of the Jewish community in the face of hostility and persecution but tempered with every day family life with all its routine problems.  Humour was always in the background but also poignancy and tragedy.  Meg’s direction brought out the best of everything with every cast member playing their role to the maximum.  I have nothing but admiration for the overall result.  Congratulations!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.