Fiddler on the Roof

As well as the well-known songs like Tradition, Matchmaker and If I were a Rich Man, we were treated to a series of love stories set against the cruel backdrop of an Anti-Semitist Russia.  Trinity were largely successful in delivering this traditional musical, with strong direction from Eric Smart, good choreography from Julie Slater, and a large orchestra under the musical direction of Gerald Hindes.

David Slater gave a confident performance as Tevye. He had a good grasp of the character, creating a believable relationship with his wife and daughters.  Golde, played by Catherine Gregory gave a strong performance as the typical Jewish mother, although some of her lines were lost as she hurried through them.  There were some tender moments between the two of them, and particularly tender moments in Do you love me.

The 3 eldest daughters, Tzeitel (Beth Elam), Hodel (Emily Delves) and Chava (Nicola Myers) all gave strong performances in their contrasting roles, and have lovely singing voices.  Some particularly moving moments were from Hodel and Tevye at the train station, and when Tevye walks away from Chava leaving her crumpled on the floor. There was also a real family struggle feel to the scene as Teyve’s family is packing up to leave with Shprintze (Loretta Bushell) and Beilke (Ella Bradley).

Aaron Crowe as Motel the tailor gave a competent performance, and we could see how much he wanted to marry Tzeitel.  When the radical student Perchik, played by William Micklewright arrives on the scene, we see more from Hodel as she starts to defy her parents. William gave a very natural performance; he was easy to watch with a strong voice.  Seeing the relationship between Chava and Fyedka (Adam Pomozow) developing was charming to watch, very natural and believable.

There were good performances from the supporting roles as well, particularly from Niels Bradley as the Constable, supported by his aggressive and obnoxious Russian soldiers.  Good comedy from Pat Hollingsworth as Yente, the meddling matchmaker.  A talented Carrie Penn Fiddler as well, although it was very distracting each time she entered from the bar door.  It’s a shame that not everyone was able to adopt the accents, those who did, sounded authentic and were consistent.

There was a wonderful flavour of traditional village life given from the ensemble, particularly in The Rumour when we experienced the small town gossiping nature.  Some good choreography and a good use of the space with such a big cast.  I really liked the dancing at the Inn with the villagers and the Russians, and also at the wedding.  I really liked the the bottle balancing dancing, although there were a few wobbles on opening night.

There were a few things that lowered the quality of the production; in particular, the scene changes were very slow. There were long periods of black on the stage where the music for the scene change had finished and the audience were left wondering if something had gone wrong.  I wasn’t sure whether the scene change that was lit behind the gauze was a mistake – it seemed strange to light behind the gauze before it was complete. It was quite distracting to the audience, and took away from the scene, but perhaps this was just a mistake on opening night.

 As sad as it was to see the village broken up at the end of the show, we the audience really believed that the community would be able to carry on.  Overall a great performance, well done to everyone involved. 

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