Once, Barn Theatre Cirencester Review

`The cast of Once. Photo credit: Alex Tabrizi`

★ ★ ★

Reviewer - Eliott

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review

Elevated from the 2007 Oscar award-winning film, Once tells the beautiful and poetic tale of Guy (Tomas Wolstenholme) who one day, whilst busking with his original material, meets Girl (Sarah Moss), who are both at crossroads in their current relationships and the boundaries that separate them from their feelings. Thrown together with a love of music, they intertwine with each other, meeting those close to them, and decide to make an album on which they can forever cherish.

The Barn has decided to revive this show, following a 2020 UK Tour, in its intimate venue, to a very mixed response; Whilst the quieter moments are captured with a sea of calmness, allowing us to journey alongside the leads, it’s Alex Turney’s Musical direction which juxtapositions in the most overwhelming, jarring, and unexpected way with Techno Pop renditions of numbers, such as ‘Ej Pada Pada’ in Act One, when we’re introduced to Girl’s family. There’s also the brash moment following a heated conversation between Guy and Girl nearing the end of Act Two where James Smith’s Lighting is blinding, built into Sophia Pardon’s ‘Open Playground’ Set Design, which is underwhelmed by lack of colour, though it does as a result make the graffiti-esque piano design stand out in a lovely manner. If this design had been produced for a bigger venue, it may work well for all audiences, but these moments of Techno Pop and Brash Design make this production non-inclusive due to The Barn’s intimate space, which is a real shame considering The Barn’s recent high reputation.

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Looking at the wider cast of Once, there are some decent performances from some of its ensemble; Sarah Moss’ charisma and characterisation as Girl were enchanting, really helping to draw the audience into the story, whilst Toby Bradford gives a humoured performance as Bank Manager when serenading ‘Abandoned in Bandon’, but it’s Amy Bastani’s empowering contemporary movement, choreographed by Director Dominic Shaw, which is rather breathtaking, during the standout moment of the production, ‘Satisfy Me’.

The guiding light and soul of this production in relation to the whole cast though, would not be possible though without the music, penned by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, the original movie stars who won the accolade for 'Best Original Song' at the 80th Oscar Academy Awards in 2008 for 'Falling Slowly'. The song here will have you grinning from ear to ear and hits an equal playing field along with the rest of the score, which includes the enchanting 'Leave', sung by Wolstenholme, the Act Two rehearsal of ‘When Your Mind’s Made Up’ which felt like a breath of fresh air, and the harrowing, though compelling encore of 'Gold' in an acapella moment that had a beautiful silence filling The Barn following on from the reprise.

For those who have longed for a conclusion which feels realistic, and doesn't sway towards giving all its characters a satisfying conclusion, Once will be for you, but if you worry about how this quaint story will translate to an intimate venue with some questionable choices in all departments, you might want to think twice before booking this one.