This yr, followers of the tiny marmalade-loving bear from Peru can catch him on stage at London’s Savoy Theatre within the West Finish, in Paddington The Musical.
It is a stage adaptation of the primary movie in the newest Paddington franchise, which started in 2014. Whereas it options greater than 18 new songs by Tom Fletcher (of the band McFly), it follows the movie’s plot fairly intently. It additionally shares its values of residence, household and tolerance of distinction – notably related to present debates on immigration.
As an skilled in historic Greek tradition, what struck me most was how this theatrical re-imagining casts Paddington as a hero within the custom of Homeric epic.
Though there have been a number of iterations of the Paddington story since he was first launched by Michael Bond in A Bear Referred to as Paddington (1958), his journey has at all times been prompted by the destruction of his Peruvian residence by an earthquake. His solely surviving relative, Aunt Lucy, is simply too outdated to take care of him, so he should discover a new residence. And so Paddington makes his option to London and to his new adopted household, the Browns.
This quest may be in comparison with Virgil’s epic poem the Aeneid. On this story Aeneas flees the autumn of Troy and wanders the Mediterranean till he ultimately settles on the web site of the long run Rome. Arguably, each tales conform with American author Joseph Campbell’s concept of the monomyth, or the “hero’s journey”, by which a quest is precipitated by a disaster. On this, the hero should overcome varied challenges, usually with the assistance of a mentor and a few type of talisman or supernatural support. In the long run, he’s victorious and reaches residence remodeled.
The search for residence and belonging is a well-liked theme in Twenty first-century movie however it goes proper again to Homer’s Odyssey. There the hero Odysseus has to beat monsters, gods and males earlier than lastly attaining his nostos, his return residence, with the assistance of the goddess Athene.
Such divine help will not be obtainable to Paddington, however Aunt Lucy serves as his religious information. Within the musical, we by no means see her however her steerage is communicated by letter. As her phrases are learn out, a bear-shaped constellation seems on the wall behind, giving her an virtually magical high quality.
Adversaries and talismans
Historic and fashionable heroes alike should face monsters of 1 kind or one other. Paddington’s adversaries are primarily human.
Opposition is briefly supplied in act one by the splendidly bombastic Woman Sloane (Amy Sales space-Metal) who’s the chief of the Geographers’ Guild.
This establishment initially despatched the explorer Montgomery Clyde to Peru to gather useless animal specimens, however expelled him when got here again empty handed, having as an alternative befriended Paddington’s bear household. Woman Sloane is definitely vanquished by Paddington’s superpower – his well-known arduous stare.
Paddington turns this withering look on individuals he thinks are behaving badly, making them really feel scorching below the collar and forcing them to grasp the error of their methods. An entire musical quantity is devoted to this small however mighty gesture.
In act two, the geographers reappear in pursuit of Paddington. Their track, The Geographer’s Guild, pays musical homage to Gilbert and Sullivan for whose gentle operas the Savoy Theatre was initially constructed. Its lyrics joke in regards to the imperialist acquisitiveness of the geographers, who’ve already “collected” the Elgin marbles and now have their eye on the Statue of Liberty.
Foremost of his adversaries, nonetheless, is Millicent Clyde (Victoria Hamilton-Barritt), evil daughter of the sympathetic explorer Montgomery. She introduces herself with the magnificent quantity Fairly Little Useless Issues by which she lists the animals she has subjected to taxidermy – a lot of which may be seen as a part of the stage set.
Millicent is on a mission to finish what her father couldn’t, and within the climactic scene, Millicent has taken Paddington to be stuffed on the Pure Historical past Museum. These scenes splendidly characteristic the distinct hind quarters of Dippy, the dinosaur skeleton-cast that, till not too long ago, stood within the museum’s entrance, Hintze Corridor.
Johan Persson
If the arduous stare is his superpower, Paddington’s talisman is undoubtedly that orange sticky substance. Act two opens with the ridiculously catchy track Marmalade, an extravagant fantasy by which the Brown’s cantankerous neighbour Mr Curry is gained over by the style of a marmalade sandwich, a fantasy into which the viewers are drawn as they take part with the “ma-ma-ma-ma-marmalade” chorus.
Whereas the marmalade sandwich stored in Paddington’s hat is a elementary a part of Michael Bond’s unique character, it’s pressed into service within the movie as the key weapon with which he escapes the clutches of Millicent Clyde. Within the musical, it’s likewise used to enlist the help of Hank the Pigeon (voice/puppeteer Ben Redfern) and his fellow birds.
So Paddington is a hero, within the classical sense of the phrase. He’s on a journey to seek out residence after his was destroyed and is guided from afar by his Aunt Lucy. Alongside the best way he should overcome evil and different obstacles. However with the assistance of his arduous stare as his weapon and his trusty talisman, a marmalade sandwich, he triumphs.
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