Chess

Chess is the ugly stepsister of modern theatre. Though many agree that its score is one of the best in musical theatre’s cannon, it has a book that most critics find at best problematic, and at worst shambolic.

It has undergone numerous rewrites and tweaks in its nearly 30-year history, meaning audiences have rarely seen two productions with similar structure, and has had more success in concert versions than theatrical productions.

The current tour, directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, is a happy marriage between Chess’ past and present. Horwood’s production is directed more as a concert that threads a story together rather than a conventional musical, and it uses the structure found in the recent acclaimed concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Set in 1979, the story mixes romantic and political intrigue and focuses on three people: a Russian chess master, an American defending his World Championship title and his Hungarian girlfriend who acts as his second. The politics of the Cold War shadow every move they make, with outside forces doing their best to influence both the match and their lives.

Most of the big numbers are performed up front and centre rather than to other characters onstage, and the rather large chorus also act as orchestra. It is a production that is more about spectacle than coherence, and for the most part it works remarkably well.

It also has a very strong ensemble of actors, primarily with its stellar leads. James Fox and Daniel Koek are stunning in voice and charisma as the American and Russian players and Shona White is both heartbreaking and powerful as Florence, the woman caught between them. Other stand outs include David Erik’s cheeky Arbiter and Steve Varnom’s power-mad Molokov.

But the real star of the production is Horwood. His elaborate staging is flashy and energetic, even if he skirts over the border into tastelessness every once in a while, and every moment is full of creative choices and flashes that impress.

Even if the characters don’t come across as full-bodied and the plot is choppy and sometimes difficult to follow, the production as a whole manages to seduce, and it does great justice to Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson and Tim Rice’s excellent music.