ED FRINGE 2023 REVIEW | The Grand Old Opera House Hotel
Photo: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan★ ★ ★ ★
Reviewer - Jacqueline
*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
When nervous, overly-talkative Aaron takes on a job at the Station Road Central Scomodo Group Hotel, he has no idea what he’s let himself in for. Isobel McArthur’s new comedy (directed by Gareth Nicholls) fuses opera and farce to tell the story of two lovers attempting to find each other in a hotel with more doors than Bluebeard’s Castle. Meanwhile, the hotel itself boasts a rich history as an opera house which closed its doors after a tragic fire resulted in the deaths of many performers… who may still be lurking in its hallways.
Our leads Ali Watt (Aaron) and Karen Fishwick (Amy) give charming and endearing performances, with many opportunities to showcase their impressive vocal abilities. Though the plot of their two characters trying to find each other across months of working in the same building does require some suspension of disbelief, it’s hard not to root for these two. All other characters (ranging from opera stars to fellow colleagues to cantankerous hotel guests) are performed skillfully by Christina Madestou, Ann Louise Ross, Betty Valencia, Laura Lovemore, and Barrie Hunter who flit between their roles with ease.
Ana Ins Jabares-Pita’s set design has been cleverly done in a way that allows more aspects of the hotel to be revealed as the plot progresses. I also couldn’t help but notice how easily the set could be folded up and moved around between venues, meaning a tour could potentially be on the cards for this production. The set design goes hand-in-hand with Lizzie Powell’s lighting design which did well to show the supernatural goings-on at the hotel… or perhaps the faulty wiring.
Finally, Michael John McCarthy’s music and Richard Bell’s sound design must be applauded. Though the early parts of the plot incorporate iconic opera songs including Nessun Dorma and Carmen, the show truly soars when its original songs are performed (with subtitles onstage translating for the audience). Many modern theatre audiences, particularly younger theatre-goers may find opera to be off-putting so to have a show so joyously embracing the greatest performances of the genre, as well as incorporating original opera music of its own deserves to be celebrated.
Overall, this show definitely has future life beyond the Fringe. However, it could do with some slight tweaks. At points, the pacing of the show seemed to drag slightly before suddenly becoming a rapid race to the finale. Some of the farcical elements did border on becoming repetitive. Having said that though, the core of the show is strong and holds great potential for the future.
The Grand Old Opera House Hotel runs until August 27th at the Traverse Theatre.
