‘35mm – A Musical Exhibition’ hasn’t been seen in London for a while, but it’s made a brief return this week at London’s Phoenix Arts Club for a mini-revival. The show sees a cast of five (Aaron Aisoni, Jaina Brock-Patel, Joseph Riley, Elizabeth Walker, David Joseph Healy) performing a selection of group and solo numbers, all inspired by a series of photographs which appear on screen behind them. From doomed romances and domestic abuse to vampire lovers and a prom queen’s revenge, the song-cycle delivers an eclectic mix of music styles which tell stories inspired by these images, aiming to bring them to life and see if pictures really do tell a thousand words.
Song-cycles are tricky things to pull off well, lacking the narrative drive of a traditional book musical and really needing the songs to be strong enough to stand on their own. ’35mm’ writer Ryan Scott Oliver comes with some hefty distinctions behind him (being a recipient of a Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre along with a Jonathan Larson Grant, among other accolades), but the songs here are a mixed bag, with even the strongest falling under the “good but not amazing” category. From a muddled and confusing opening, the show does settle down into a reasonably enjoyable 70 minutes with some nice moments, but the central concept of the songs being inspired by individual photographs (taken by Oliver’s husband Matthew Murphy) isn’t really strong enough to really come off as a cohesive whole. The links range from the literal to the baffling, and the show overall lacks its own identity other than “some songs and some photographs”. Moments are fleeting, the songs are delivered and then a whole new scenario is set for the next, and it results in the show feeling insubstantial and ultimately dissatisfying.
Directed by Dean Johnson, the show isn’t helped either by the venue’s delivery of it, with some patchy and muffled sound often obscuring the lyrics (which are key to the point of the songs, since there’s no book), and other times the volume of the band drowning out what the performers are singing. Some of the blocking of the performers is also frustratingly handled, with them having to stand directly in front of the photographs being shown on the screen behind them, obscuring the audience’s view of these images. Due to the intimate performance space at the Phoenix Arts Club, this is somewhat unavoidable to a certain extent, but it does still reduce the impact of what the show is trying to convey.
Performances are strong and the cast give their all with what they’re given to do. It’s a true ensemble piece with all five of the performers given their individual moments to shine. David Joseph Healy makes a particularly strong impression in his professional stage debut and hopefully, we’ll see him go on to big things in the future. Also Elizabeth Walker does well in saving the day, understudying the role of Woman 2 at the last minute, delivering “The Party Goes With You” and “The Ballad Of Sara Berry” with assurance.
‘35mm – A Musical Exhibition’ doesn’t get revived on our stages very often and it’s always nice to see rarer titles given another outing. Without a story and lacking anything to really pull you in, it’s a show that’s enjoyable enough in the moment but doesn’t stay with you, resembling more of a fleeting dream than the lasting power of photography from which it takes its inspiration.
Review: Rob Bartley