Author and Composer:
Jean-Pierre Hadida
Book by Jean-Pierre
Hadida and Alicia Sebrien
Original director:
Pierre-Yves Duchesne
Current director:
Dennis Watkins
Musical director:
Michael Tyack
Produced by Neil
Croker
Canberra Theatre to
24 November
Reviewed by Len Power
22 November 2018
Madiba: The Musical is a colourful, energetic show with good
acting and fine singing and dancing.
Originally produced in France in 2016, the show has been
adapted into English by Dylan Hadida and Dennis Watkins, who also directed this
production. It plays at a good pace with
some excellent set pieces and artistic back projection, some of which is
well-animated.
Percy Moeketsi gives a fine performance as Mandela and is particularly
moving in his final solo song. David
Denis is a charismatic personality as the Narrator, effortlessly singing
complex rap songs while performing amazing feats of athletic choreography. Ruva Ngwenya is a strong Winnie Mandela and
has some arresting songs in the first act but unfortunately has less to do in the
second act.
Tim Omaji is very appealing as the young activist, Sam, and
Blake Erickson gives a strong vocal and acting performance as Peter Van Leden. Tarisai Vushe is especially fine as Sandy and
Barry Conrad and Madeline Perrone are touching as the inter-racial young
lovers, William and Helena. The ensemble
sing and dance with great energy and skill.
The choreography by Johan Nus was nicely staged and danced
by the cast. Musical director, Michael
Tyack, ensured the score was played very well and the sound balance between
musicians and performers was fine.
A musical about South African icon, Nelson Mandela, has to
deal with the fact that Mandela was a quietly charismatic figure. He was not a colourful and dramatic
personality that would be easy to musicalize.
The musical moves too quickly through his early life and
focusses on incidents from about 1960 when Mandela was 44 years old. He spends a major part of the musical’s
timeline in jail so other characters dominate much of the action of the show. Many of the book’s scenes seem like padding
and some characters change their outlook on racial issues too suddenly to be
believable.
The musical score is uneven.
The songs with African rhythms are the most successful and
enjoyable. Other songs are written in a
conventional Broadway style that seems at odds with the subject matter. Some of the lyrics are quite banal.
The production values and skilled cast are Madiba's strong points and it’s quite enjoyable but the book and musical score still need fine
tuning before it will really soar.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast in his ‘On Stage’ performing arts radio program on Mondays
and Wednesdays from 3.30pm on Artsound FM 92.7.
