Tony winner Trevor Nunn’s “exuberant revival” (Telegraph) of Fiddler on the Roof “raises the roof” (Guardian) as it opens to rave reviews at the Meniere Chocolate Factory in South London.
A defiant portrait of resilience, Fiddler on the Roof follows the joyous and heart-breaking story of the poor Russian-Jewish milkman Tevye, his wife and five daughters.
Trevor Nunn’s revival stars Tony nominee Judy Kuhn as Golda and Andy Nyman as Tevye alongside Harriet Bunton, Dermot Canavan, Stewart Clarke, Matt Corner, Joshua Gannon, Louise Gold, Kirsty MacLaren and Molly Osborne.
The iconic piece has music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein.
Fiddler on the Roof is scheduled to run until 9 March 2019 at the Meniere Chocolate Factory, London.
NOTE: This production has now transferred to the West End and is now running until 28 September 2019 at the Playhouse Theatre. Find tickets here
Read a round-up of reviews below.
Fiddler On The Roof reviews
"Musically, geopolitically, emotionally, this Fiddler raises the roof."
'Although much-loved and often revived, Fiddler on the Roof has been charged with excessive sentimentality and piety. But, as Trevor Nunn’s magnificent revival amplifies, the show daringly contrasts lightness and darkness.'
'The terrifying resurgence of antisemitism makes the musical cruelly topical once more, and the final sequence of the villagers fleeing invokes other forced diasporas. Characteristically, Nunn roots the lines in vivid social and physical detail.'
"Nunn’s interpretation is thoughtful, warm and intimate"
‘In Trevor Nunn’s polished revival, which boasts a cast of nearly thirty and an excellent eight-piece band, it’s at once a feast of dance, a bouncy comedy and a defiant portrait of Jewish resilience.’
"Trevor Nunn’s gloomy ‘Fiddler’ is classy but not always fun"
‘I realise there are some restrictions that apply when staging ‘Fiddler’, but this finely crafted revival feels both entertaining and somewhat lacking a sense of purpose.’
The tears ring true in Trevor Nunn's exuberant revival.
'Despite its rather rudimentary story-line, the show remains as fresh as ever. Folk songs that were the product of affectionate pastiche – the creative trio’s homage to ‘where poppa came from’ – have such a core veracity, it’s almost as if they were actually sung back in the day.'
'Nyman doesn’t always sound the part, he looks it: a little youthful, granted, but with his big beard, labourer’s fore-arms and stout physique, he plausibly incarnates the fretful patriarch.'
"Trevor Nunn’s production bursts from the stage — but there’s a chill wind blowing, too"
‘Yes, there is whimsy here and some slenderly drawn characters, but this beautifully delivered production strikes a fine balance, like the eponymous fiddler on the roof, between joy and sorrow.’
"Trevor nunn's tight, trad revival"
'Nunn is a master of musicals, and one who knows the Menier space well. He builds a bustling village from nothing, whips up whirlwinds of motion and noise in split seconds, and makes the Menier’s dungeon-theatre look vast and liveable in, almost, with huts of wood and a yard of compacted dust.'
'It’s great to see Judy Kuhn on a London stage as Tevye’s wife Golde. She and Nyman get their rapport just right, which makes for a really sweet version of Do You Love Me. Kuhn’s face is full of confusion and agonising as this brand new concept of ‘love’ creeps into her marriage to Tevye.
But it’s Nyman is without a doubt the best thing about this tight, trad revival.'
