Once Musical

A chance encounter wherein a young Czech girl asks an dejected Irish busker to fix her broken hoover seems like an unlikely starting point for a love story, let alone a musical. Surprisingly this is the premise of Glen Hansard’s multi-award winning musical Once, now with Arthur Darvill reprising his Broadway role as the male lead who is known simply as ‘Guy’, taking to the stage alongside the original ‘Girl’ – Croatian-born Zrinka Cvitešić. United by a mutual passion for making beautiful music, these kindred spirits go on a tender journey as they both discover what it means truly to embrace life and live in the moment.

In a year that has been increasingly tough for new musicals to stay open, Once has bucked this trend and is even extending its run until July 2015. With such a hit on their hands, finding a new cast that could live up to the calibre of their predecessors was critical. I’m pleased to be able to say that the new recruits certainly have risen to the occasion. No doubt this is largely thanks to the onstage chemistry between Cvitešić and Darvill, which is truly electric. As the Girl, Cvitešić buoyantly coaxes a reluctant Guy to believe in himself by following his dream of forging a career in the music industry. Although the Girl tries to encourage the Guy to leave her behind and try to win back his former lover in New York, the Guy and the Girl are of course the true couple that the audience are willing to be together. In these nameless figures, playwright Enda Walsh has created well-rounded characters that the audience can invest in emotionally, a factor that is all too often glossed over in musical theatre.

In many ways it is easy to forget that you are watching a musical as the creative team behind Once have stripped back many of the traditional conventions associated with musical theatre: impressive jazz hand-filled dance numbers have been replaced with pedestrianised naturalistic movement. Instead of an orchestra pit the actors sit around the edge of the stage throughout the piece, strumming guitars, mandolins and cellos as they provide their own musical accompaniments. The cast of talented actor-musicians fuse the two media brilliantly. This minimalistic approach to the art form is perhaps most effective during Darvill’s rendition of ‘Falling Slowly’, as his raw and heartfelt delivery feels more like you’re listening to an intimate acoustic gig than watching a show in the heart of the West End. Perhaps it is more appropriate to refer to Once as a play that just happens to have haunting melodies woven into the narrative.

It felt only fitting to reward the captivating cast of Once with a standing ovation – for me it certainly ranks as one of the best musicals that I have had the pleasure of seeing. This stellar piece of theatre distances itself from many of the archetypal features associated with the genre and therein lies its charm. I have a sneaking suspicion that even the most reluctant of musical theatre-goers would enjoy Once, a theory that I plan to test out very soon. After all, it would be a crime to see it just the once.

Once is currently playing at the Phoenix Theatre until July 2015. Arthur Darvill will be playing the role of Guy until 10 May. For tickets and more information, see the Once website.