The King and I – Theatre Review

(photo credit: Pamela Raith)

My love of musicals stemmed from rainy childhood Sundays dedicated to curling up to watch classical movie musicals with my mum. I fondly remember watching Gene Kelly swinging around the iconic lamppost as he sung out the title number in Singin’ in The Rain, and Doris Day’s Calamity Jane heartily singing Whip-crack-away. The bright technicolour and delightful costumes provided me with the upmost comfort. With that all said, it might come as a slight surprise that I have never seen the 1956 Rodgers and Hammerstein film The King and I. 

After being kindly given press tickets from Norwich Theatre Royal to see the UK tour of The King and I, and the opportunity to bring a guest, I knew it was only right to bring along the person who had ignited my love of musicals. 

 

As we shuffled down the aisle to our seats, I asked my mum to quickly fill me in on the basic premise. In the early 1860s, the widowed schoolteacher Anna arrives in Siam (Thailand) with her son at the request of the King of Siam to tutor his many children. At first, the King and Anna clash with their different cultural ideals, but they slowly grow a loving fondness and somewhat understanding toward one another (it turns out the plot is basically if The Sound of Music was slightly tweaked and set in Siam rather than Austria). With me filled in, the house lights went down and the orchestra erupted into the beautiful overture, which was instantly identifiable as a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein piece. 

 

The set was cleverly utilised to give the appearance of a large endless palace, with pillars and curtains framing the scenes. The costumes were visually stunning, from Anna’s extravagant dresses with huge hoop skirts underneath, to traditional Siam dress.

 

At times, the material did feel slightly outdated, which I suppose is to be expected considering the musical was written in the early 1950s. However, the powerful performances of the actors managed to breathe new, modern life into the old material.

 

The dynamic between the alternate Anna, Maria Coyne, and Darren Lee as the King was brilliant to watch. The pair’s comedic timing bounced really well off one another, as they portrayed the characters’ stubbornness of not wanting to adapt to the other’s way of living. The pair’s voices blended beautifully together during Shall We Dance – which breaks out into the iconic serotonin inducing ballroom dance sequence.

 

I was pleasantly surprised when I recognised a couple of the songs, such as Getting to Know You, which was a joyfully playful moment as Anna encouraged the King’s children to dance and sing along with her. 

 

One of the standout moments for me was the abstract balletic play-within-the-play sequence, The Small House of Uncle Thomas, a story of slaves during the American Civil War. The piece is narrated by Tuptim (Marienella Phillips), with the play acting as a narrative device for her sense of entrapment by the King. The sequence felt like a dream-like trance, as the stage was filled with beautifully traditional Siamese (Thai) garments, dance and music. The dancers moved with so much precision, notably Rachel Wang-Hei as Eliza, it was captivating to watch.

 

As the orchestra reached the final note, and the stage lights cut to black, the silence was immediately broken with the rupture of applause. The actors rightfully deserved a standing ovation, as their performances were all so incredibly strong.

 

The King and I ran at Norwich Theatre Royal from 14^th-18^th November.