After 21 months and a pandemic, on Saturday 14th August, I finally stepped back into a London theatre. It’s been a testing year with the stay at home orders, social distancing and mask wearing. It was emotional and an absolute joy to experience live theatre again. Originally, we had booked to see the Prince of Egypt in August 2020 but obviously couldn’t so we moved it to the same weekend in 2021. However, we were very close to missing the show again due to COVID as the show had a case and shut down for about 10 days or so but reopened on Thursday 12th August. I’m so thankful we were still able to go.
In regards to the pandemic and safety within the theatre, I thought it was done really well. The day before I was sent a text message with a link to e-tickets and also where I could provide track and trace details and assign the tickets. Additionally, on the e-ticket it gave us our staggered arrival time of 6:55pm-7:10pm. Once at the theatre, there were separate doors for the stalls and circle, then through the doors for the circle, there were staircases that were sectioned off. At the top was a merchandise stall, I got a programme and pin, then attendants scanned your ticket and in you went. I would say even though in the e-ticket link it asks you to wear a mask a lot of people didn’t but there were some empty seats around us. We wore masks and kept them on throughout but took them off to take photos. We were seated in the Circle and our seats were absolutely perfect, we could see everything clearly.
The story is that of the Exodus story that is in the Bible. It’s about a man called Moses, who learns that he was rescued as a baby by the Queen of Egypt. He is brought up alongside her son Rameses as brothers and the story explores what happens when Moses discovers he is Hebrew and how he tries to free his people. He is banished from Egypt after killing a guard after sticking up for his people and ends up in Midion. Here he becomes a shepherd and marries the daughter of the priest Tzipporah. One day, he then gets a message from God, through a burning bush, telling him to free his people and for this he is given gifts by God. Whilst this has been happening the Pharaoh has died and Rameses is married and becomes Pharaoh. Moses then returns with his wife to convince Rameses to free the Hebrews, which initially he grants, only to have it overturned by his wife, Nefertari and Hotep, the priest. This then leads to a war between the brothers, with God unleashing the 10 plagues onto the Egyptians. It ended after the death of all the first born sons, which persuaded Rameses to let the Hebrews go. He then changes his mind and sends his army after them. In order to save his people Moses famously parts the Red Sea and leads them to freedom with the sea destroying the army that pursued them.
The cast of the show are absolutely incredible; there isn’t a weak link. Luke Brady (Moses) is a force to be reckoned with and carries the story with ease. Barely off-stage throughout and hopping across the stage, with 14 musical numbers to negotiate. The fact he does this week-in week-out is a testament to him and his talent. His voice is also flawless, his renditions of “All I Ever Wanted” “Footprints on the Sand” and “For the Rest of My Life” are incredible. HIs opposite number Liam Tamne (Ramses) is a great match against Brady’s Moses, he portrays the conflicted Rameses perfectly. He also has an incredible voice and his duets with Brady are a real highlight of the show. Christine Allado (Tzipporah) is stunning, she plays a great love interest for Brady’s Moses but doesn’t overpower him at any point. Again, another gorgeous voice in this pitch perfect cast. Finally, we have Alexia Khadime (Miriam) plays the perfect part of Moses’ sister and performs “When You Believe” flawlessly alongside Christine Allado (Tzipporah). The supporting characters and the ensemble are absolutely incredible and helped move the story along with the interpretive dance.. However, Clive Rowe (Jethro) is severely under used in this show additionally his rendition of In Heaven’s Eyes is great.
The songs are amazing with 5 original and 10 newly written songs but the genius that is Stephen Schwartz, also known for the music in Wicked. I find it so hard to choose just one favourite song because so many are just perfect. It starts with the powerful Deliver Us and just gets better from there. Some of the highlights are, Footprints on the Sand, All I Ever Wanted, Never in a Million Years, The Plague and the well known When You Believe.
The staging was incredible, the main stage is the shape of Egypt and then there is a screen at the back and what I’d say looked like beaded curtains which had projections mapped onto them throughout to add to the story. These are all put into use when they visit the tomb of the Pharaohs throughout the show and it just makes it so much more immersive. The costumes were really colourful and pretty, Moses’ coat and Tzipporah’s costumes throughout were the highlights.
Overall, this show was incredible and went straight into my top 3 favourite shows I have seen. I'm so grateful to be back in a theatre and I'm looking forward to seeing more shows and getting back into some sort of normality.
Until next time,
Stacey x
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