UK Theatre Network

Whistle Down the Wind blows into Glasgow’s King’s Theatre this week.

Whistle Down the Wind is based on the 1961 children’s novel by Mary Haley Bell; famous wife of John Mills and mother of Haley and Juliet.  The musical came into being in 1996 from an unexpected collaboration between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman.  Despite spawning the most successful single in musical theatre history (“No Matter What” performed by Boyzone hit the number 1 spot in 18 countries), the show proved to be a hard sell with a short West End run and a cancelled appearance on Broadway.

This second UK national tour brings together a talented cast to create a success where those before have failed.  Their efforts do not fall flat and the audience left happy, if a little bewildered as to what had not quite worked.  One audience member summed up the feelings of many in the foyer by saying “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be”.  Not, altogether, an unqualified success, then.

So, it’s up to me to tell you what was good and what was not so good.  The good is easy.  Jonathan Ansell (The Man – that’s his character name and not a recommendation of just how important he is) was very good indeed.  Playing an escaped convict who is mistaken for Jesus by 3 Louisiana youngsters, Jonathan dirtied up his clean cut “G4” appearance and, more importantly, dirtied up his clear as crystal voice to play this character role.  He was menacing and mysterious throughout.  Jonathan was matched by Carly Bawden as 15 year old Swallow, who is mesmerised by the stranger hiding out in her barn.  The clarity of Carly’s voice cut beautifully through Jonathan’s new bad-boy vocals in perfect contrast.

The supporting cast largely fell into the ‘good’ camp with particularly solid performances from Lincoln Stone, Scarlette Douglas and Scott Bourne.  A few disappointing accents were a let-down, together with some odd Meatloaf style vocals.

And that leads me into the not so good elements of the show … the jarring changes of musical style were quite upsetting.  If you listen to the original concept album for this show, you will hear artists as diverse as (the aforementioned) Meatloaf, Boy George, Boyzone, Elaine Page, Donnie Osmond and Bonnie Tyler.  An eclectic mix of performers, I’m sure you will agree.  Now, imagine that all of these vocal and musical styles are reproduced onstage in one story based production … it’s just odd!  The second failing is the story itself which could be summarised in one sentence.  The show scratches the surface of the deeper issues of faith and racism but I’m not convinced that a children’s story from 1961 is the most likely source of 2 ½ hours of entertainment for adults.

To finish on a positive note (because I did enjoy this show) I can say that Paul Farnsworth’s set was among the most impressive and ambitious touring production sets I have witnessed.  In scale, perspective, practicality and speed of changes it was second to none.

Listings Info:
Whistle Down the Wind
Mon 24 – Sat 29 May
Mon – Sat eves 7.30pm
Wed and Sat Mats 2.30pm