Paddington the Musical - Savoy Theatre - Review

Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma marmalade.

Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma marmalade.

Yes, dear reader of my theatrical ramblings, that has been stuck in my head on a pretty much continuous loop since Friday, the day on which I finally got to see one of the worlds most famous bears, Mr Paddington Brown himself.

As a long time fan of this little bear from deepest darkest Peru, the excitement levels for this one were sky high, even more so when the way in which he would be portrayed on stage was revealed on the productions opening night, talk about best kept secrets.

Inspired on and based upon the much loved books by Michael Bond, and following (for the most part) the plot of the first film from Paddington’s movie trilogy, here we are introduced to a young bear (portrayed in a cleverly magical way by Arti Shah and Tiago Dhondt Bamberger) sent to London for his safety by his dear Aunt Lucy. He’s grown up being told that the streets of London are pathed with golden marmalade (a bears favourite sugary treat) and that everyone will welcome him, but upon arriving at a busy and bustling Paddington Station, he discovers that this isn’t quite the case in reality.

Armed with only a suitcase full of marmalade and a hat once belonging to the kindly explorer who befriended his aunt and uncle, he is taken in by the Brown family; warm hearted but worn out Mary (Amy Ellen Richardson), constant worrier of risks Henry (Adrian Der Gregorian), sufferer of embarrassment Judy (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) and boy of encyclopaedic knowledge Jonathan (Leo Collon). Now named Paddington, he sets out to find the explorer whilst discovering the kindness and wonder that London has to offer, but danger lurks in the form of taxidermy enthusiast and fan of all things pretty and dead, Millicent Clyde, played by Victoria Hamilton-Barritt.

Paddington is classic, the absolute epitome of innocence, kindness, manners and joy, and to see him brought to life on stage at the beautiful Savoy Theatre is magic and wonder in itself. Speculation of exactly how the bear was going to be portrayed began as soon as the show was announced, and personally I believed it was going to go down the route of Frozen’s Olaf and The Lion King’s Timon; a actor puppeteer on stage with a puppet in front of him, but no, the creative team behind Paddington caught us well and truly off guard, combining physical performance, acting, puppetry, voice acting and state of the art animatronics to create something spectacular. Two performers work seamlessly together as Paddington, Arti Shah donning a fur suit with animatronic head on stage, her actions and mannerisms perfectly matching to the words being said and sung and the puppetry performed by Tiago Dhondt Bamberger (at this performance) off stage as he gives Paddington his voice and his adorable whiskery expressions. To illustrate just how seamless and genius this is, let us remember when we first saw War Horse’s Joey and Topthorn on stage and how quickly we forgot how they were being operated by three puppeteers each and simply saw horses. Shah and Dhondt Bamberger work so brilliantly that you simply allow your inner child to explore and live in imagination, as you see Paddington the bear in his shining glory, feeling every success and every struggle with every fibre of your being. And just be ready to join in with the audience wide awwws every time Paddington gets a new outfit or dances, because it is mindblowingly cute.

The Brown family, completed by their lodger the eccentric Mrs Bird (theatrical royalty Bonnie Langford), are believable and relatable, the desperation to be the perfect happy family with the cracks showing through from Mrs Brown expressing her feelings through her paintings, Mr Brown’s breathing exercises to calm down from the chaos brought in by Paddington, Judy’s worry of embarrassment in her young love with neighbour Tony (Timi Akinyosade) and Jonathan’s want for knowledge and adventure. Each member of the family gets a moment to shine and there is beauty in seeing them come together, with Amy Ellen Richardson performing one of the songs most heartfelt moment ‘One of Us’, which totally should have been the Christmas number one by the way. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a show staring Bonnie Langford if she wasn’t given a big song and dance number, and ‘Never too Late’ in act 2 earns rapturous applause. Akinyosade, in his West End debut, shines as Tony, a character greatly developed from his movie equivalent. Head over heels in love with Judy Brown, he uses his poetry skills to try to win her over and to lead the greatly uplifting and ridiculously cute ‘Rhythm of London’ alongside Brenda Edward’s as his mother Tanya.

Millicent Clyde is the villain of the piece, wanting Paddington stuffed and on display, and with her sidekick Grant (Tarinn Callender), there isn’t much she wouldn’t do to display the famous Peruvian bear in the Natural History museum including convincing neighbourhood watch Warden Mr Curry (Tom Edden) to do her dirty work. With a character so nasty and so over the top, it would be easy for Millicent to become pantomime in style, but Victoria Hamilton-Barritt walks the fine line, perfectly balancing baddie energy with childhood upset. Callender’s Grant may seemingly be in Millicent’s domineering shadow for good, but there’s a soft heart there which charms the audience and Edden’s Mr Curry, through some very clever use of breaking the fourth wall partnered with some winning physical comedy, earns perhaps some of the biggest laughs of the night.

Tom Pye’s scenic design, paired with the video and animation design by Ash J Woodward creates London with a magical edge. The Brown Family home is warm and cosy, even when Paddington gets a tad over excited at the prospect of a house in the hilarious ‘Don’t touch that’. Shelves of curiosities and displays merge the natural history museum with Mr Gruber’s shop and large screens at the back and sides of the stage come to life with colour, with even a tribute to the famous pop up book from the second Paddington film getting a cameo role. These animations prove particularly effective when dear Aunt Lucy is mentioned and when Paddington dreams of his home in Peru. Mr Curry’s taxi looms larger than life and we even get a glimpse inside the Savoy Hotel itself, of course where the theatre Paddington calls home resides.

Tom Fletcher’s music shines in this production, from large scale dance numbers that get stuck in your head like the above mentioned ‘Marmalade’, and Millicent’s evil ditty ‘Pretty Little Dead Things’ to the touching ‘Explorer and the Bear’ and ‘Aunt Lucy’s Prayer’,  each as catchy and memorable as the last. The blend of styles could be seen to beautifully mirror the idea that London welcomes everyone, any culture, any belief with ‘Rhythm of London’ perhaps playing tribute to Lord Kitchener’s ‘London is the place for Me’ which is used in the film.

In a world that is constantly evolving and reaching out for the next technological advancement whilst arguments about immigration, refugees and what makes Britain what it is, Paddington with its puppetry, performance and messages of everyone is welcome and spreading some more kindness is exactly what the world needs right now. Paddington isn’t some AI creation tricking our eyes, he is a living breathing wonder brought to life beautifully by both cast and creative, capturing our imaginations and allowing our inner child to simply smile and live in the moment. He is kind, loyal, loving and strong, and the characters around him illustrate the good in everyone and demonstrate how coming together can benefit everyone.

Paddington the musical will warm your heart, bring the biggest of smiles to your faces and perhaps even a tear to your eye and with tickets flying out the door quicker then Paddington can slip another marmalade sandwich under his famous red hat, I imagine that this wonderful little rare sort of bear will be calling the Savoy theatre home for many more months to come.

In a world where things are hard, and it can all feel a little dark sometimes, I think everyone could benefit from just being a little bit more Paddington.