Figaro: An Original Musical ★★ The London Palladium | February 3 & 4, 2025


In 1894 George du Maurier wrote the novel Trilby about an innocent young woman who wanted to be a singer and who was bewitched by the roguish impresario and hypnotist Svengali. In 1910 Gaston Leroux published Le Fantôme de l'Opéra which later became the basis of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical and which similarly told the story of a young singer who comes under the sway of a mysterious stranger. In Figaro: An Original Musical the tale is now set in Italy. The would-be singer is a simple country girl called Sienna played by Cayleigh Capaldi and her mesmeric manipulator is Figaro played by Jon Robyns. The story of sweet innocence betrayed by a sinister stranger is the perennially appealing stuff of melodrama and fairy tales, and it always has a certain purchase on the human imagination. However, in this particular case, the cast never manages to capture the archetypal nature of the tale. Neither Sienna's naïveté nor Figaro's evil achieve the necessary epic proportions. They may not fall into the cartoonish Snidely Whiplash and Mary Pickford models, but they don't manage to get beyond being rather mundane one-dimensional caricatures. Similarly, the dialogue and lyrics of the show fall into colloquialisms and modern slang that jar with the simplicity and storybook nature of the themes. The variety of accents that assault the ear in this production, which apparently is set in the Italian countryside, also undermines both the veracity and fairy tale nature of the piece. The costumes which run from Victorian to Moulin Rouge anachronistic are also a mishmash that is simply distracting and fails to create the special world of Sienna and Figaro. What does stand out here is the quality of the singing and some of the melodies that are quite charming. Cayleigh Capaldi as Sienna displays a thrilling voice, and the children, played by Cian Eagle-Service and Sophia Goodman, are simply delightful. Figaro: An Original Musical seems to be very much a work in progress, but there is definitely some potential for it to become a captivating entertainment.

Rated: ★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Fahad Alinizi

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: 8 Argyll St, London W1F 7TF, UK

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