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In
this musical, chess is used as the medium for a story about the personal
politics of love and ambition and the international politics of Soviet-US
relations in the Cold War era.
Chess championships and the people and media that surround them form
the basic structure for the action, and chess is used as a metaphor
for people as pieces being manipulated in games that are beyond their
control. Great attention has been paid to emphasising this merging
between the game and the personal life of the players, not just musically
"everybody's playing the game, but nobody's rules are the same,
nobody's on nobody's side", but also visually. The actors play
their parts on a black and white chequered floor that extends up the
wall in the back right corner, as if someone were pulling up the corner
of a tablecloth. In a nice touch, the chorus stand above the stage
dressed in alternately black and white t-shirts.
The play has generally been well thought out and as a consequence
flows very smoothly. Props, actors and dancers all come and go in
a seamless procession. The choreographer deserves credit for coming
up with a good range of distinctly different dances to be carried
out in such a small space - one with bowler hats particularly took
my fancy.
The show has attracted some excellent voices both for the chorus and
the lead parts. Sara Rajeswaran warrants particular mention for her
splendid vocal performance and I was also impressed by quality of
the vocal combos. Sadly, some of the singing is lost due to a technical
problem with the microphones that leaves the band playing very softly
and the singers occasionally inaudible. It would be a shame if this
were not sorted out as it takes a lot of energy out of the musical,
which should be a loud spectacular.
The band performs well when given free reign, creating a real sense
of tension around the chess games as the other actors silently stand
by and watch. Despite its sound problems, I would recommend this play
for a light-hearted, enjoyable evening out. It played to a full house
on the first night and judging from the response of the audience it
should continue to do so.
Emily Wood
23/10
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