The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s second musical at this year’s Fringe is Stephen Sondheim’s classic story of love triangles and intrigue in A Little Night Music, and it’s absolutely enchanting as we are transported to Sweden in the 1900s.
The story of actress Desirée Armfeldt, outstandingly performed by Anna Toogood, and her relationships with the many men in her life is a tangled web of emotion and passion in what is a complicated love triangle.
The company perfectly capture the period and are beautifully costumed by Claire Halleran, and the choreography by Jane McMurtrie is delightful.
Shane Ferris gives an impressive performance as the widower lawyer Fredrik Egerman, who has recently married an 18-year-old woman, Anne, coyly played by Emi Kitagawa. The marriage understandably isn’t working well, and Frederik rekindles his love for Desirée.
She is also having an affair with Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (David Joseph Healy), an upstanding dragoon whose military bearing is quite comical. His downtrodden wife (Jen Cassidy) has become frustrated at the arrangements and is determined to get her own back on her pompous husband.
The hapless, cello-playing son Henrik (Marty Pascall) has also fallen in love with his father’s wife. It’s a complex plot.
Michaela Elise Fox is the quintessential, elegant grand dame who is looking after Desirée’s daughter, a lovely cameo from Tyler Ramsay.
The quintet of Liebeslieders—Selina Savijoki, Cate Brooks, Kejie Wang, Kaiyi Xu and Jadon Simone Trelour—elegantly move throughout the stage adding a new dimension, always listening and watching.
The singing is sheer bliss, and Sondheim’s score is in the very capable hands of the musical directors, Hudson Crowe and Noah Pott.
Directed with panache by Tom Cooper and with such wonderful numbers such as “A Weekend in the Country” and of course “Send in the Clowns”, there can be no better way to start your morning. Bravo!