From its modest beginnings at Battersea Arts Centre, Richard
Thomas and Stewart Lee’s Jerry Springer
the Opera went on to create quite a stir at the National Theatre in 2003.
There and in subsequent touring and TV transmission, the show was strenuously
opposed and picketed for what was considered blasphemous material. The debate
at that time was whether the content of the musical was suitable for
exhibition.
16 years later, there is another debate. The Jerry Springer Show spawned many
similar confrontational talk shows. The explosion in reality TV has led to
questions about the morality of making entertainment out of real lives. The
recent cancelling of the Jeremy Kyle show has been a turning point in opinion,
and is also a happy coincidence for Northern Ricochet, the producers of this
revival of Jerry Springer the Opera
at Hope Mill. In his program note director James Baker discusses where the
finger should be pointing when we denounce reality TV shows. Is it really the
fault of the Jerry Springers or Jeremy Kyles, or doesn’t the blame for the
exploitation of ordinary people truly lie with the audiences who have a
continued appetite for it?
The first thing that strikes us on entering Hope Mill’s
compact auditorium is the cleverness of the decision to place such an ambitious
piece in such a small space. We are seated in 2 banks to either end of the
central stage, placing us in the wings of the TV studio for a recording of the
Springer show. To one side we see the TV set, and to the other is the studio
audience, who are the dozen or so members of the choir. The feeling of being
there, and being very much part of the show adds an extra layer of excitement.
Then we are hit between the ears by the quality of the vocal
performances. Yes, it’s a musical with the word ‘Opera’ in its title, but while
the show may be genre-bending there is no escaping the operatic style of the
structure and writing. The cast are uniformly strong in their delivery,
punching home their dialogue, which is entirely sung-through, with a deadpan
seriousness that belies the thickly layered comedy and colourful language. In
Baker’s hands the story is both profane and profound. Whilst we laugh at their
personal plight and the words they use, we have to feel a respect and admiration
for the people who have chosen to lay bare their personal problems in this
bear-pit of a TV show. It’s not Jerry Springer’s approach that shocks the most
here, but the baying of the studio audience, out for blood.
Michael Howe channels Springer masterfully, maintaining a
calm dignity for quite some time before events begin to take a turn for the
worse. A gunshot and an interval later on, we find him in a surreal, cerise
version of Purgatory, facing his earlier guests, who now appear in very
different guises to taunt him.
Accompaniment under Musical Director Tom Chester is first
rate, as is the excellent sound balance from Chris Bogg that crisply delivers
words and music throughout. Victoria Hinton-Albrieux’s designs provide a clear
vision of where we are in the TV studio, whilst taking on a flight of
imagination for the descent into hell that follows.
This is the first production from newly formed company
Northern Ricochet, whose focus is to place northern talent at the heart of what
they do. They should be applauded for providing a showcase for emerging artists,
and for the quality of the product they have on offer. In Jerry Springer the Opera they have set out their stall with a bold
statement. The result is a hugely entertaining show that demonstrates that the
source material, whilst still as shocking as it was back in 2003, finds its
impact by shining the spotlight not so much on the purveyors of televisual
junk-food, but on the audiences whose hunger feeds the industry.
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| Michael Howe and the cast of Jerry Springer the Opera - Picture (c) Anthony Robling |
Jerry Springer the Opera continues at Hope Mill Theatre until
31st August.
Star Rating: four stars
This review was originally written for and published by Musical Theatre Review
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