If you are reading this review you are probably a Stephen Sondheim fan, and you probably already have strongly held views about his musicals, and all you will want to learn from this review is a simple judgement of whether this is a good or bad production. If you are not already a fan, doubtless you are being forced into going to see this musical by someone who is a Sondheim fanatic, and perhaps you are reading this to fathom what all the fuss is about. In this case, you may wish to know that the fuss about Sondheim is justified, though you should know that his loyal fans consider Assassins to be one of his least inspired musicals.

It’s about the assassins and would-be assassins of USA presidents, and offers little in the way of a plot but is instead is shaped by a series of sketches and cameos. This may indeed be a kind of “Brechtian montage theatre”, as the director, Laura Corcoran, writes in her notes, though the lack of any real kind of narrative construction means that the denouement, such as it is when it comes, lacks any real dramatic meaning. English viewers should not be embarrassed if they fail to remember all the names of the assassins and the assassinated, since I am informed that Americans also have a hard time remembering it all.

Music and lyrics are both by Sondheim, but are not of equal quality. The lyrics are sharp, controlled, by turn funny, insightful, and bizarre. In contrast the music is functional, occasionally insipid, and never memorable. It is in fact more of a play with songs, rather than a light opera. Bearing this in mind, it is therefore a sensible decision of the director to have cast actors who can act, rather than sing. None of the actors are particularly outstanding vocally, though none are particularly weak either. Tony Marsden, playing The Balladeer, a character who acts as a kind of narrator for parts of the musical, was one of the more accomplished singers. Overall the acting was of a very high standard, and there were no weak performances.

Some performances seemed to deserve special mention. Sarah-Jane Moore as Rose Heiney, who attempted to assassinate Gerald Ford, was outstanding. Adam Perchard, as John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Abraham Lincoln, and Arron Fester, as Sam Bycke, who attempted to assassinate Richard Nixon, were also very, very good.

All in all, an excellent production.