PREVIEW: Spring Awakening: UK Production

I've noticed that Spring Awakening, a musical based on the 1891 play by Frank Wedekind is opening for a limited run in London early next year.

The musical, like the play, tells the story of a group of friends who are becoming sexually mature in a society which is sexually repressed. I went to see the Tony-award winning production earlier this year in New York. It uses some of the original text of the play, then proceeds to break the forth wall with rock numbers, where the characters expose their feelings and angst directly towards the audience. This juxtaposition is quite interesting to watch, seeing a late nineteenth century school boy pull a handheld mic from the inside of his blazer and start singing takes a while to get used to, but the sheer energy and power of the young cast put across to performances fantastically.

The production is frequently cited as being a 'controversial' production, and while it does deal with themes of rape, molestation, suicide and abortion, it's impact on me as a young person did not shock me as it may have done some traditional "Broadway musical" theatre goers. Some of the heavier topics I feel are done well, such as the questionable rape scene, and some are staged in such a stylistic way (the beating scene) that it moved me more to laughter than any other emotion. It is this stylistic clash which I feel is Spring Awakening's flaw - it switches between a traditional format and stylistic approaches frequently and without warning, confusing the audience as to whether it is artistic or funny.

When I went to see it, over 90% of the audience were certainly under 25, and this is very much a piece of theatre for and by young people, I wonder how the young people of Britain will react to this.

Spring Awakening will play a limited run at London's Lyric Hammersmith between 23rd January - 28th February 2009. I'd consider making the journey again to find out what changes are made to the British production, but it is certainly worth making the effort to see.

If you've seen it, or are looking forward to seeing it, please leave your thoughts in the comments