REVIEW | The Time Traveller’s Wife Musical
Written by Phillip
Disclaimer: gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
The theme of travelling through time is something that has captivated the human mind for generations with Audrey Niffenegger’s novel ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ being no exception. However, with such a story to tell, the musical seems to rush through some important points.
With a book by Lauren Gunderson and music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Joss Stone, the story is somewhat eclipsed by the music. The music and lyrics were lovely but potentially not quite as memorable as it should be. One of the biggest issues is that they spend so much time singing and acting alone. There is barely a moment for the two protagonists Henry (David Hunter) and Clare (Joanna Woodward) to create the chemistry to truthfully show how in love they are. They sing and act wonderfully but the time in which they share the stage is fleeting.
The story is one of enduring love, the complications that come with time travel and essentially being alone. Although I understand that that is exactly the point - two lovers pulled apart at important moments, it meant you didn’t get to see the raw, honest, broken moments of two people in crisis. The story covers whole lifespans in such a short space of time which unfortunately means that some plot points that should be treated sensitively were brushed over. One such important plot point is that Henry frequently meets Clare as a child at the age of 10. This in itself is alarming, not to mention the fact that when he travels he cannot take anything with him (including his clothes) however thanks to Bill Buckhurst’s direction and Hunter’s performance you realise that there are never any inappropriate thoughts from the character.
Although full of trauma and emotional longing, Hiba Elchikhe and Tim Mahendran bring lightness and humour to proceedings as best friends of the protagonists, Charisse and Gomez respectively.
The real stars of this show are the wonderful designs created by a whole team of people. Production designer Anna Fleischile’s simple design of turning flats that have different additions of furniture each time they revolve with videos and animations by Andrzej Goulding, really do pull you into Henry and Clare’s world no matter what time or place they are in. Goulding’s video and animation are especially dazzling in the Act 2 opener, ‘Journeyman’ with Hunter being thrust around the stage as if really travelling through time and space. With sound design by Richard Brooker, sound fx design by Pete Malkin, and lighting design by Rory Beaton and Lucy Carter it is easy to suspend your disbelief about where exactly you are whether it be in a living room or meadow or even space.
The illusions created by Chris Fisher are what add the magic to this show. There were moments scattered throughout the show that had the audience really scratching their heads and wondering how on earth they did that. I just wish they were more frequent.
Hunter and Woodward really did give their all to Henry and Clare, trying to forge meaningful connections with each other and with the audience. As I watched I was willing them to make a connection but sadly leaving the auditorium I just didn’t really care.
All in all, this production does have promising moments and is indeed an enjoyable night out but sadly for all the time travelling, it feels something has been lost in translation.
The Time Traveller’s Wife is running at Apollo Theatre until 30th March 2024
★ ★ ★
