Honk!

The show responsible for putting British writers Stiles and Drewe into the spotlight winning the Olivier Award for ‘Best Musical’ over ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Mamma Mia’! The defeated are still playing in the West End, but ‘Honk!’ has not been seen on a London stage since then.

This piece is full of heart, humour and pathos and is a title that’ll always have a special place in my heart! Its themes are relatable to the degree you forget you’re watching poultry though we’re regularly reminded what animal they are with a humourous aside reference. The book visits bullying, acceptance, adoption, stalking and forgiveness themes and it certainly tugs the heart strings when Mother Ida believes she’s too late to save her baby, however, being bubble wrapped up in fluff, feathers and fur, the humour and light heartedness shines through in this Hans Christian Anderson classic musical makeover.

The musical has obvious and immediate appeal for youngsters and is a show that will certainly be enjoyed by children, however, with a little closer inspection one will find that there is more in this piece for the grown ups to cling on to, particularly with how the humour and word play is pitched. There is a Junior adaptation of the show which has been tailored to aim at a primarily younger cast and audience which indicates that the piece in its original form has been aimed to entertain grown-up viewers.

There was a warm energy which united the company which was lovely to behold though many of the subtle moments were lost with a hefty extent of the text being misunderstood. I was surprised that this title didn’t attract the usual MMTG performers as ‘Honk!’ is a piece that would absolutely suit their humour and flair.

The overall design was sufficiently folktale offering a Beatrix Potter look though some aspects were floored with a failure to mask certain moments such as the ducking’s getting into their shells prior to hatching. The makeshift costumes hit all the right marks.  

I would have liked to have seen more of the characteristics of the animals coming through into the presentation particularly in body language (pace of movement, the odd jerky twitch and turned in feet for example) and voice play to make certain words (where appropriate) resemble a sound that their animal would make. Incorporating such elements also adds another layer to the humour, taking it deeper than merely relying on the script to proffer the giggles.  

Sid Smith offered the productions strongest performances as ‘Ugly’, vocally he nailed it and give us the highlight of the evening being his rendition of ‘Different’ which would crack your heart. But it is his complete submersion in the role, his unwavering winning-smile spirit, which completely captivated.

Unless the score has been amended since I last heard it (it’s not uncommon for shows to be tinkered with by its writers) I was taken aback with the ballad version of ‘Now I’ve Seen You’ which is usually a joyous and rousing up tempo number. The ballad version does dip the excitement of the plot somewhat, although it’s nice it doesn’t convey the excitement and rushing sense of young love that the up-tempo version does.   

The chorus was small which lends itself well to this show and was largely made up of youth members which is charming in one respect though many of the cameo (dare I say minor) roles – many of which were played by the youngsters – were conveyed with a sense of vulnerability which itself misplaced the intent of the parts.  

Ida (the mother duck) is the glue to the show, a wonderfully wholesome role which Nicky Evans tackled with vigour, giving it a worthy punch and excelling as an actress. As is commonly the case with such roles it vocally didn’t expose her at her best with some numbers appearing to sit in an uncomfortable position for her, though her acting through song did assist in overcoming this gripe. It’s not always possible or viable to re-orchestrate to a more appropriate key for the performer, and can be a rather pricey undertaking too, however, it would contribute to an overall stronger and more comfortable outcome.    

This endeavour welcomes a new musical director to MMTG, Alison Lea. Alison led a trio of gifted musicians, plus herself on keys, and quickly smoothed things over ensuring everyone on stage was together with her band, handled like a pro! She’s someone to hang on to as this is (musically) the finest sounding troupe of musicians I’ve experienced at an MMTG musical.

For a show that’s notorious for parts being doubled up I’ve never seen the Cat and Drake be played by the same actor before, although it did work (to an extent) it was exposed as rather curious when there wasn’t as obvious role sharing happening elsewhere. Micheal Daws was a sly kitty and demonstrated a playful deviousness in his delivery which was relished to fine results.

Other notable characterisations were Paul Yendell’s Greylag who’d perfected the pompous squad leader stereotype and Cory Evans was a hoot as Bullfrog despite being a tad tentative to begin with. He soon warmed up and settled into his stride after receiving his first couple of laughs.      

‘Honk!’ speaks eloquently to all generations, particularly those fond of a fowl joke. If you are feeling down, this is eggsactly a show for you. You’d emerge sunny-side up, without the slightest scrambled feeling, though you may be infected with a need to make eggstremely poor puns – no yolk! (Okay, I’ll stop now.)

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