Theatre Review: Chess, Edinburgh Playhouse

Published on Tuesday 21 September 2010 14:54

Edinburgh Playhouse *****

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood is firmly of the opinion that audiences need to do some of the work. That people like to be challenged by a night at the theatre rather than simply handed convenient platitudes on a plate. Which is one of the reasons he chose to direct Chess.

An ambivalent examination of Cold War politics using the competitive world of chess as a metaphor for the machinations of the East and West during the 70s, it's heady stuff. Particularly when you consider that Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson wrote the music and Tim Rice the lyrics.

Considered to be the first real rock opera, the expansive score doesn't disappoint, Ulvaeus and Andersson proving that their skills far exceed the cheesy Europop they're best known for. Yet Chess is not without its failings, there are a great many issues at the heart of the script that have never been truly resolved by any of the productions that have reworked the original piece.

Remaining faithful to the London version of the show, Horwood supplies us not only with a dense, fast-paced view of the combative nature of Cold War politics but a rich visual confection of Bacchian revelry that Marie Antoinette herself might quite enjoy a slice of. Melding sublime operatic dnouements at the end of each act with a set and costumes that can only be described as Gormenghast hosting a chess tournament in the discothque of The Prisoner's village, the production is quirky, dramatic and engaging.

Of the 30-strong ensemble, 25 play musical instruments during the show, imbuing the performance with an enticing immediacy and energy. With 21 scene changes to contend with during the course of the evening, the versatility of the cast is awe-inspiring. Led by strong vocal performances from principals Shona White as Hungarian mistress Florence Vassy, Poppy Tierney as deserted wife Svetlana, Daniel Koek as conflicted Russian Anatoly Sergievsky and James Fox as unstable American Freddie Trumper, the production has the cohesiveness and flow of an outstanding contemporary opera with the accessibility and appeal of popular music. It's definitely worth taking up Horwood's challenge for a night, if you're game that is.

Run Ends 25th September