The King and I

This is the fifth musical from the award-winning duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is set in Siam in 1862 and is loosely based on a novel by Margaret Landon ‘Anna and the King of Siam’, which in turn was loosely based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens ‘The English Governess and the Siamese Court’. It explores many themes including the different cultures of East and West and the position of women within those cultures.

The show opens on board a ship which is bringing ‘Mrs Anna’ to Siam, and the scene between the Captain and Anna is very important for alerting the audience to the social differences they may encounter, both from a cultural and historical point of view. The show had an elaborate set of the King’s Palace with a pagoda roof, supported by columns with dragon-like creatures at the feet, built on three levels of ‘marble’ steps. This remained on stage throughout, with minimal changes of appropriate furniture, for locations such as the schoolroom and Anna’s bedroom. A black gauze was used for ‘front of tabs’ type scenes such as the deck of the ship, with furniture rearranging and people taking positions behind it in view of the audience. It all worked very well. The lighting was well-designed and controlled showing the set and costumes to full advantage and helping to create a lovely atmosphere.

The costumes were excellent; they showed the differences between the cultures well, with the difference in style and the vibrant colours of Siam with the more sombre colours for Anna and the western men, except for Anna’s stunning ball gown. It must have taken a large team of stylists to create the hairstyles for the wives and children and fix their headdresses.

Many of the musical numbers for this show are so well known, at least with audiences of a certain age, and it was lovely to hear them again. The songs had been well taught and there were charming solos, duets and ensembles, but I felt that the positioning of the musicians, in the wings stage left, made it difficult for performers and musicians to hear and see each other, and several times the performers were waiting for the music to start.  Having said that everyone sang well and Musical Director Rob Kempner had put together a well-balanced group of musicians.

Choreographer Katy Sirr had devised dances and movement, which suited the period it was set in and the culture. The children presented themselves beautifully and the ‘ballet’ for The Small House of Uncle Thomas’ was a delight and communicated the story clearly.

The show had been well cast with supporting cast working well with the principals. The children were all well disciplined and responded appropriately and enthusiastically to the action. Louis Leonowens was every inch the western gentleman in the making and Prince Chulalongkorn emulated his father, particularly in ‘A Puzzlement’. Eddie Saunders had developed two different characters for his roles of Captain Orton and Sir Edward Ramsey. Helen Ryder and Jack Curtiss worked well together as Tup Tim and Lun Tha, the young lovers with their lovely song ‘We Kiss in a Shadow’. Fiona Stone as Lady Thiang, The Kings principal wife, gave a beautiful rendition of ‘Something Wonderful’. Anna Leonowens is strong willed widow who is not frightened to stand up for herself and refuses to be intimidated by the King’s ministers, but she has a warm heart and these qualities were well displayed by Jenny Nixon. She told the story beautifully through her songs, with emotion and good diction. The King of Siam was a very powerful man in his own country and expected everyone to obey him without question, he was rather taken aback by ‘the difficult woman’ Anna, but gradually warms to her. John Salter displayed the many facets of his character, and ‘Shall We Dance?’ showed their developing relationship.

Jane Ford had designed a set, which was very practical and enabled the story to move along without long scene changes. Director Claire Howard had tempered the harsher elements of total male dominance, slavery and cultural conflict by bringing out the romance and wit in the story; making the most of some lovely moments such as when the King insists that no ones head should be higher than his.

Everyone had worked well together to produce spectacle with beautiful sets and exotic costumes enhanced by good lighting. The characters were all well-rounded and the children delightful. The well-known music was sung and played well, and the cast under the steady director’s hand, obviously enjoyed themselves. The audience left humming songs from the show and I still am.

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