Sin – An Original Musical, Union Theatre Review

Reviewer - Bronagh

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. 

Trigger Warnings : Strong Language, Loud Noises, Flashing lights, Use of Fake Weaponry, Fake Blood, Discussion of Sensitive Themes such as abuse, violence, death and substance abuse.

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The Union Theatre is transformed into 1920s New York as for six nights only, it is home to Sin – An Original Musical. Sin centres around Jack who has inherited a decent amount of money and has ideas on how to invest it. The 1920s aren’t known as the ‘roaring 20s’ for nothing… flapper fashion, the decadence, dance crazes and, of course… prohibition. Moonshine being smuggled, criminals making their fortune. Why wouldn’t Jack invest in setting up a speakeasy? Along with Michael, Sam, Ross and Otto, the plans get rolling and the action starts. 

This is the third adaptation of Sin, previously of the Arcola Theatre and the Other Palace. This was the first time I had seen it so can’t compare to the other venues. I am going to start with a negative, albeit one that isn’t down to the show or the cast, but the sound. The sound in the Union Theatre was very off at times. I’m not sure why this was, but I particularly found group numbers difficult, finding it hard to hear what was being sung. At times it felt like a bit of a shouting match. I also found that Macie’s big number with Ross towards the end of Act 2 was also difficult to hear. Again, no fault of the cast who actually have extremely impressive voices, and perhaps just due to the acoustics of the space.

Now that niggle is out the way, now to get into the meat of Sin! The story is easy to follow; petty criminal gets an inheritance, he sets up business with his fellow petty criminal friends, he meets a lovely young woman and things start to go terribly wrong. People are being killed in the speakeasy, tensions are arising regarding Jack’s ownership and violence takes the lead. There are a couple of plot twists, which I won’t reveal, which certainly helped to ramp up an otherwise straight forward story. Remarkably – especially for an original musical – the songs are all memorable (when the sound isn’t playing up!). A few more jazz style pieces wouldn’t have gone amiss, and really immersed us in the 1920s feel.

The cast are all impressive, especially given how young they all are. Taylor Quinnell’s Sarah brings some glamour, hiding domestic abuse, whilst Camille Reid’s Grace – the new girl in town – arrives in town bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to take on New York. Charlie Toland’s Jack is very convincing and his narration draws us into the murky criminality. Renan Teodoro’s Otto is more of a supporting role as the gofer, a delight when he’s on stage. Stand out performances come from both Harry Osborne as Michael and Thomas Stansfield as Ross. Stansfield embodied the heavy handed Ross perfectly, using his height and stature to a tee. Osborne, in my opinion, seems to have drawn inspiration from Heath Ledger’s Joker when taking on the role of Michael which made for impressive viewing. His voice is incredible, really stealing the spotlight in group numbers. My only niggle is that his American accent did slip at times but with a bit of polishing I imagine this would be more up to scratch.

Lucy Lombard and Gaby Coleman are supporting characters at Macie and Danni. I took a little while to adjust to who exactly their characters were, but will say when they were on stage they were certainly entertaining to watch. Alex Webster and George Russell are our chorus members, slotting into various characters wonderfully and seamlessly.

Overall, I did enjoy Sin and would recommend it to audiences. I do feel like some parts could have been omitted, as running at approximately two and a half hours felt quite long. I would say that the main thing that needs improved is the sound, which I’m sure not only I struggled with. With these small details being ironed out, this could make for incredible viewing on a bigger stage.

At the Union Theatre until 2nd March

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆