When the original version of Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind was shown in New York City in 1917 it was closed down, on the grounds that it was too pornographic. It wasn’t until 2006 that Spring Awakening was reworked for Broadway and it became an award-winning musical. It was this version that intrigued writer and director William Sherriff Hammond. It inspired him to adapt Wedekind’s original and make it relevant today. Considering Wedekind’s nationality and Spring Awakening’s dealing with the oppression of our surroundings, it was an understandable move of Hammond to set his version in East Berlin,1989 under the repressive Soviet regime. Yet, unfortunately, a modern day audience will not be shocked by this performance.
His adaptation sustains the elements of the original; it’s dark, sexy and is an interesting commentary on the damage sexual suppression can do physically and emotionally. The brilliant performances convince us of this. There is no denying the acting ability of the Upstaged Theatre Company. Kasia Chodurek is fantastic, so too is Hannah Barker who is an incredibly comfortable stage actor with impressive talent. Dominic Price deserves recognition for lightening the sombre mood with his fantastic portrayal of Reverend Kahlbauch with his speech impediment. Some comic relief is important when dealing with such intense themes such as sexuality, suicide and repression, which has been fully understood by Hammond who has written a balanced and impressive script. Set alongside a cracking soundtrack too, there is plenty of entertainment potential in this show.
It does need some serious sharpening though; with tighter direction this could be more powerful than it is. Not all the acting is spot on and at times it was hard to hear the dialogue of Jack McGinn due to his position on stage. Generally the actors take a while to slip into their characters and it was not until halfway in that I felt fully engrossed. The weakest part of this production however is their attempt at physical theatre: sadly, it felt a bit lacklustre at times. More dynamic physical acting could have been what set this play apart to truly make it a more inspiring and contemporary version of Spring Awakening.
