Sing Street
Sing Street: A New Musical at the Lyric theatre in Hammersmith was an amazing show, filled with 80s futurism style music and the importance of self-expression.
The story follows Conor, a 15 year old boy in Dublin in the 80s, who gets a band together so that he can film a music video for Raphina, a 17 year old girl and aspiring model, to star in. It explores identity, love, and what it means to feel stuck, unable to continue.
What I liked
The cast were all incredible, but it did feel like this was the perfect role for Sheridan Townsley (he/they) to make his professional debut in. They played the main character Conor and gave an amazing performance as both a teenager doing what he can to impress a girl, and a ready-made-music star.
The songs were all so much fun and it was a joy to see members across the cast play instruments throughout.
Sing Street joins the set of productions exploring use live projections, but this show had a much stronger call to do so, as they projected the live footage of the moments where they were filming their music videos. The footage was projected onto the back wall behind the cast and I think it really enhanced the show!
I also loved the costuming for the show. The Cure and Duran Duran influences are very clear, but also believably achievable looks for these lower-class teenagers in Dublin in the 80s to muster up in a week.
What wasn't my favourite
The only thing that I have reservations about for Sing Street is it leans more towards a play with songs than a traditional musical. Given the story revolves around a band and their songs, it is expected that some of the songs will be diegetic, but even the songs that give us a direct insight into a character's thoughts and feelings are framed like pop songs. Of the 13 songs in the show (from the program's list, as it has changed since the Broadway production) 8 are in-world band performances, scattering the character driven songs sparsely throughout the show.
Now, is this an actual problem? Probably not. Do the band songs still give us insight into Conor's inner world as he writes them to win over Raphina or acts out against societal expectations? Absolutely. Does the 80s futurist sound being consistent throughout all the songs make it more cohesive a piece despite its impact manifesting in the departure from more traditional musical theatre lyricism and is that ultimately a more active and interesting choice given the landscape of adaptations? Also yes. So is this really a criticism? Not really, but I do think it impacts the depth than can be achieved for the other characters.
Overall
I'm so glad I went to see Sing Street, and I also feel quite lucky that I happened to go on a day where the cast did a signing afterwards, so not only do I walk away knowing a new musical filled with great songs, but I also got some professional photos signed by the whole cast! I definitely recommend seeing it if it ever comes your way, and giving the Broadway cast recording a listen for some classic 80s sound bops.
