MUSICAL: SPRING AWAKENING

Sydney Theatre Company’s Spring Awakening is based on the Off-Broadway hit rock-musical of 2006, based on the controversial German play of 1891. Spanning continents and centuries – and this is the first non-replica, English-speaking production – it is no surprise then that the retelling loses some of its original verve. It follows a group of adolescents attempting to come to terms with adulthood; namely Melchior (Andrew Hazzard), a student dreaming of the liberation of the senses from what he terms a ‘parentocracy’, and Wendla (Clare Bowen), a girl who just wants to understand the world and truly feel something. When playwright Frank Wedekind first penned the piece, it was banned for almost a century due to its themes of rape, abortion, incest, suicide and most importantly teenage sexuality, themes that are as topical today as then. But while they clearly shocked and offended in 1891, in 2010 when slapped together with some alt-rock numbers and acted interludes they seem tired and trite. Little effects like a swivelling scaffolded set, artfully placed costumes at the beginning of certain scenes, the use of visible microphones to signify solo songs and bands of light for death, somehow don’t cohere into a convincing message. The performers, mostly young and full of energy if not experience, try their hardest to resuscitate this breathless beast. But in the end Spring Awakening would fare better if it went for all-out hammy or full-throttle grit, not somewhere in between.

Until Mar 7, Sydney Theatre Company, from $40, 9250 1777 or www.sydneytheatre.com.au