CRIME & PUNISHMENT REVIEWED

Sep 5, 2016

Gods and Monsters Theatre present: Crime & Punishment: A Rock Musical Dostoyevsky and the music of Toyah Willcox and Simon Darlow Dir : Phil Willmott Also The Wawel Dragon The Scoop, London Bridge City, SE1 2DB Wednesday 31st August Ð Sunday 25th September 2016 Cast : Raskolnikov - Alec Porter Sonya - Rachel Delooxe Dmitri - Zac Hamilton Katerina - Angela Laverick Luzin - Reuven Gershov Andrei - Steve Graney Zossimov - Aran MacRae Nastasya - Lizzie Frain Alcoholic - Phil Willmott Credit: Sheila BurnettReviews are coming in for Gods & Monsters Theatre production of CRIME & PUNISHMENT: A ROCK MUSICAL.

The show plays every Wednesday – Sunday at 8pm until 25 September and is completely free admission as part of London Bridge City’s Open Air Free Theatre Season. The adaptation of the classic Dostoyevsky novel Crime & Punishment sees the drama set to thirteen of Toyah’s songs, primarily written by Toyah Willcox and Simon Darlow.

THE STAGE:
This year Dostoyevsky gets the steam-punk treatment. Willmott has tuned Crime and Punishment into a musical with the help of songwriter and composers Toyah Willcox and Simon Darlow.

The revolutionary undercurrent of nineteenth century St Petersburg seems an appropriate match for Willcox and Darlow’s soft punk score and a couple of crowd-pleasing hits including I Want to be Free and It’s a Mystery sit comfortably in Willmott’s accessible adaptation. READ MORE

BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE
Phil Willmott has managed to cut Dostoyevsky’s novel down to a ninety-minute musical. Concentrating on protagonist Rodiom Raskalnikov, he has carved out storyline that presents the main plot clearly and uses Toyah Willcox’s songs (some specially written) not as decoration but integrated so that they contribute to the storytelling. READ MORE

LOVE LONDON CULTURE
From the rousing “We Are” to the more poignant and touching “Legacy”, each song captures the emotions of the story and help the audience to understand the character’s state of mind perfectly. There is an edginess to them that fits in with the aggression and sinisterness of the plot as in “Angels & Demons” – suggesting the conflicting sides to Raskolnikov and which part of him that he is going to follow. READ MORE

Photos: Sheila Burnett
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