The Critic : The Sylvan River (3)

The first performance of The Sylvan River was over. 

 

Conversation between myself, Cecile and Chris & Charity Snow-Warren was warm and animated as we relaxed in the small theatre box, basking in the post performance glow.

The door to the box opened and a smiling face appeared. Darcy Fielding.

 

"Ooh. A bit snug in here! Room for a little one?" He didn’t wait for a response and joined us. "Well, Jack, Chris... that was alright wasn't it?"

We laughed. "Is that going to be your review headline, Darcy?" said Chris.

"It's a thought." He rubbed his chin in mock consideration. "No. I can do better. Congratulations, you two. And Cecile, Charity. Are you proud of your husbands?"

Cecile winked at him. "Oh, they're alright."

Charity giggled. "We're delighted, Darcy. I hope Mister Foxworth has cheered up, though."

"Hmm? Why?"

Chris explained Grant Foxworth's earlier visit to our theatre box, then went on to give details.

"Professor Coldwater is somewhat of a purist when it comes to high literature. He'd written an insightful book about the original Sylvan River poem. Very useful in my research."

"Go on, although I think I know where this is going," said Darcy.

"Right. When the play was written based upon the poem, whilst it told the general story, it became more of a character piece. Which was fair enough. It was a play and the actors needed to have something to work with. But arguably some of the finer nuances of the poem were... lost."

"I remember," said Darcy. "With Prof Coldwater being an authority on the poem, the Sylvanian Times asked him to review the premiere of the play. Slated it."

"He pulled it to pieces," nodded Chris. "Hated it."

 

"Oh," said Cecile, "but the play was so popular."

"Very much so," said Chris, "which didn't go down too well with the Professor. He thought his reputation was being ignored."

"Ah." I understood Grant Foxworth's reaction. "And now this Professor is reviewing our musical."

Everyone was silent. I was the first to speak. "When will it be published?"

"The Times has its entertainment reviews in the Tuesday edition," said Darcy.

"Bit of a wait, then," said Charity. She wasn't giggling as she said this.

"Aw cheer up!" Darcy looked at each of us. "The waiting is bound to be the worst part, not knowing what the Professor said. That said, I have a mate at the Sylvanian Times. She'll let me have a preview, I'm sure. Try and forget about Bertram Coldwater. As soon as I know something, I'll tell you. In the meantime concentrate on what matters. Did the audience enjoy it?"

Chris smiled. "They certainly did. With all those curtain calls."

"Well then." He looked into the auditorium. "It's more or less cleared down there. Shall we make a move?"

 

Chris and I briefly called in to congratulate the cast but we didn't see Grant Foxworth. He was busy somewhere, but I figured I could phone him tomorrow. We didn't stay long because we were aware Angelica, Rowan and the others would be waiting at the bus.

We made our way out of the theatre we walked to the bus. Figwort was there with his parents, the Nettlefields and Everton Hopkins. The boy ran to me, eyes shining.

"Uncle Jack! Wasn't it great!"

 

I laughed. Here was the only critic we needed.

o 0 O 0 o

It was late when we arrived back home, and after a short conversation with Merlin we went straight to bed. Our children were already supposedly asleep, as despite their protestations, Eliza and Merlin had insisted they shouldn't wait up for us. They could hear about the premiere tomorrow. That was the plan, but that didn't stop both Beverley and Brendan briefly popping into our room to kiss us goodnight.

 

At breakfast the next day the children pressed us to describe all that had occurred at the theatre. It was lovely to see their reactions but they weren't fully satisfied. When they asked if they could go and quiz Figwort I realised the opinion of their contemporary might do the job. They disappeared as soon as we agreed. 

 

When talking to the children we didn't dwell on Grant Foxworth's fears. As it transpired, we didn’t have long to think about it as we had a visit mid morning from Darcy. He had a piece of paper clutched in his paw.

 

"Well, my friends - do you want to call Chris over or should I tell you first?"

Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised at Darcy's efficiency but I was. "Your newspaper friend came through on a Saturday? You have a copy of the review?"

"Was there any doubt, Jack?"

"I suppose not... maybe we should wait for Chris..."

Cecile took the paper. "We'll read it now."

Of course she wouldn't wait. Darcy sniggered, so I turned to him. "How did you get it so quickly, Darcy?

 

"Never mind that, Jack," said Cecile, already beginning to read. "Listen..."

 

The Sylvan River - A Musical Journey

Premiere at the Palladium Theatre, Calico New City

Reviewed by B J Coldwater (Prof. Lit.)

When a play loosely based upon the beautiful epic poem The Sylvan River was first given a public airing, I was less than complementary with my newspaper review.

The public had another opinion. It was sobering given my depth of knowledge of the subject, but I learned from the experience. I still believe that the approach by the playwrights was unfaithful to the original, but I now understand their intent: to take the general story and create a character piece that the general public might enjoy. It may even have prompted some to investigate the poem, which I find gratifying.

Time has flowed like the proverbial river and now a new version of the tale has appeared, to wit: A musical production.  As I put pen to paper, my intent to stem a natural bias, I reflect upon what I witnessed at the Palladium Theatre an hour ago. 

Was it literature? Was it a crass attempt to capitalise upon the popularity of the play by throwing in a handful of tunes?

Neither. Although to be fair, it was nearer the former. I admit I was pleasantly surprised by this production by Grant Foxworth. He has engaged writers that managed to retain and improve upon the characterisation exposed in the play, whilst cleverly returning to the underlying meaning of the original poem.

I do not mean to say that it is a carbon copy of the poem, but the structure is consistent. The glaring omissions by the play were not repeated. The tale is all there. In fact, I will go further. The development of the role of the fisherman was a masterstroke. It has made even me reconsider some of the poem's intent in a different light.

I have not yet mentioned the music; unusual since it is, of course, a musical! I believe the songwriters understood the poem. The melodies evoked the full spectrum of emotion, meaning the performers did not need to overact and the narrative did not need to exaggerate. Everything gelled. Many of the lyrics are quoted directly from the poem but the additional words harmonised with the original text. As for the tunes themselves, I am not a musician, but I found comfort combined with an unfamiliar familiarity in the songs. By this, I mean to say that I knew I hadn't heard the tunes before, but they felt like I should have.

I researched the songwriters afterwards and discovered that they had composed some of the songs on a Lionel Grand record. One that I possess and enjoy! Butterglove and Snow-Warren are names to watch.

To summarise, The Sylvan River: A Musical Journey was a success. Recommended. 

Cecile looked up. Darcy was grinning. I became aware my mouth was agape.

"Wow," I said.

"I know," said Darcy. "Good, eh?"

"And it's going to be published like that?" said Cecile.

Darcy nodded. "It's a pre publication draft as the Prof handed it over, but my friend says they rarely edit Professor Coldwater's stuff. Especially when they ask him to write for them."

"When Chris sees it..." I began.

"You want to watch?" laughed Darcy.

"Of course," said Cecile. "Why should you have all the fun?" 

"The fisherman stuff was his idea too," I said, and I thought back to my original meeting with the backers, convincing them to include Chris in the contract.

"We should go over to their house right now," said Cecile.

I had a thought. "I should phone Grant Foxworth and tell him the news. He was in a state last time I saw him."

"Ah, please don't," said Darcy. "I'm showing you this preview as a favour. My friend shouldn't have leaked it. I know you'll keep it secret before Tuesday's publication, but I don't think Grant will be able to do that."

"A secret?" said Cecile. A sigh. "Better not tell the children then."

Darcy and I spoke in unison. "No!"

 

o 0 O 0 o

So that is the tale of our first musical. It's been part of our lives for well over a year but I suspect it will endure a while. I certainly hope so. Lionel Grand is delighted that we did it, and I think he'll ask us to write more for him. I hear Corbett Mulligan still maintains an interest too.

Ah. What's next, I wonder? 

o 0 O 0 o