Aspects of Love

If one word can be used to describe the majority of Andrew Lloyd Webber shows, it would be ‘spectacle’. Whether or not you like the work of the West End theatre owner and television personality, one cannot deny the skill that goes into the design, special effects and staging gimmicks used in most of his productions.

Aspects of Love was conceived as an antidote to such staging; he called the piece a ‘chamber musical’, and the music and lyrics all have a feeling of intimacy. Unfortunately, that feeling is completely lost when it is played as a large-scale musical, as it is in the current tour. The result is that much of the story and music gets muted, and the source material doesn’t resonate in such a large space as Edinburgh Festival Theatre.

The play could be entitled Aspects of Lust, as the plot follows the infatuations, affairs and heartbreak of five characters over the course of 17 years. Young Alex and his uncle George go back and forth between an actress named Rose and an artist named Giulietta. Things get complicated when Rose and Giulietta share passions and, in the second half, Alex becomes infatuated with Jenny, Rose and George’s daughter.

David Essex headlines the production as bohemian artist George. He gives a solid performance, finding humanity and compassion in a character that could have easily been played as a dirty old man. He also has some of the best moments. However, he is not the lead. That falls to the characters of Alex and Rose. Tim Rogers gives a good performance as Alex, playing a man whose idealism erodes due to his passions. He also gets to open the production with the one memorable song, Love Changes Everything.

But Shona Lindsay as Rose has the hardest job. The lyricists, Don Black and Charles Hart, can’t seem to make up their minds as to whether Rose is a sympathetic woman or a slut. One moment, she chastises Alex’s love-making skills, and yet ten seconds later she seduces him. It is a thankless role, and yet Lindsay manages to find some dignity in the character, and shines, especially in her solo numbers.

Better off are some of the supporting characters, including Philip Cox’s portrayal of Marcel, Rose’s manager; Aoife Nally as George’s housekeeper, Elizabeth; and Rachel Lynes as Jenny. However, the best performance is Poppy Tierney’s Giulietta, the musical’s most honest, and at times raunchiest, character.

The piece would work much better on a smaller scale, in a theatre space that allowed the characters more contact with the audience and with staging that didn’t rely on over-dramatics to convey the story. As it was, the audience seemed mostly left behind. Applause was rare and the response at the curtain call seemed muted, polite at best. Then again, it must have moved some; I counted five people in the stalls giving it a standing ovation.

Webber fans should fine something to like in this production. Others will mostly find disappointment.