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Figaro | London Palladium

This is a story of passion. Passion for the beauty of music, passion for each other. But this kind of emotion has a way of shifting into something more extreme: lust. This show explores this deep emotion, and brings warnings about those seeking to exploit it.


Figaro (Jon Robyns) is a travelling showman. Dark and mysterious though he is, he cannot help but seduce Sienna, a passionate woman whose only wish is to sing. Cayleigh Capaldi delivers a powerful performance as Sienna, bringing justice to both the strong book and the beautiful music by Ashley Jana. Robyns brings a darker tone to the show; with enchanting vocals and brilliant mannerisms, his portrayal of Figaro is one to remember.



The show starts with Sienna in a majestic red ball gown, centre stage singing. All of a sudden, a flashback happens and we see Sienna in a country dress with her father. Transitions like these happen a few times throughout the show, however, not all of them are as smooth as they could be. Towards the beginning of the show, Sienna loses her father in the crowd. This is indicated through changes in lighting from soft to harsh, and whilst this happens, four cast members in black trench-coats and black umbrellas appear as if to confuse Sienna. However, this change was radical and happens after the lighting changes. The idea for this scene seemed to have been using the cast members, the music and the lighting to indicate that change in Sienna’s life. But the lack of symbiosis between the three made the transition unnecessarily confusing.


Sienna is taken into Figaro’s travelling show by two orphans, Gianni (Cian Eagle-Service) and Amelia (Sophia Goodman). From the moment they step onto the stage, these two command it. Both have such a sweet, but strong, way of moving around on stage that the audience can’t help but melt in their presence. The movement direction by Joanna Goodwin helps immensely to achieve this. The clever book also means that we see both the tragic and the comedic sides of these two characters.



The set by Justin Williams is made up of a two-tiered platform with wooden panels curving from the ground up, which served mostly as Figaro’s stage. On the left of these panels is a door with lightbulbs around it, used to make entrances on the platform. The right side of the stage features a large wooden staircase which led to an overhead mezzanine used as Figaro’s office. This feature was particularly ingenious as it represented Figaro’s need to be in power and overlook everything, but it also provided a subtle transition in general mood.


The music by Jana is absolutely spectacular. With catchy, and altogether enchanting melodies, Jana’s music captures the heart of the audience. However, in relation to the issue with transitions, the music sometimes was missing a thread to tie it all together. In other words, the music style sometimes changes so suddenly that the flow of the show is disrupted. That being said, every other detail of the production is so strong that it does not have a massively detrimental impact on the overall experience.



When it comes to the book, some of the plot lines, particularly in Act 2, deserve to be explored further. Without giving any spoilers, Act 2 features some shocking revelations about the lead characters. But the majority of those were not explored, or even mentioned, past the moment when the revelation occurred. Further, there are places in the book that seemed a bit too slow, which in turn broke down the momentum it worked so hard to build, particularly in the last scene of Act 1.


All things considered, Figaro more than deserves to see the light of day again. However, in order for a more successful run to happen, it needs a few minor adjustments which could heighten the tension of the performance and gives it the acclaim it deserves.


★★★★☆ (4*)


Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Fahad Alinizi

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