WILL STONE is frustrated by a performance that chooses to garble the lyrics and drown the songs in reverb
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Dear Evan Hansen, Noel Coward Theatre London
Heartfelt musical on youthful anguish in the age of social media
SOCIALLY AWKWARD Sam Tutty (left) as Evan Hansen
[Matthew Murphy]
RITA DI SANTO points out the social experience of exploitation and oppression that inform the popular winners at this year’s festival
PETER MASON is tickled by a new book and exhibition that mine the rotten anachronism of the monarchy for laughs
A Nazi zeppelin whodunnit, death amidst detoxification, a twistaholic’s delight, and noir fiction for criminals
STEVE JOHNSON salutes the mellifluous tones and clear-minded political message of a uniquely relevant Birmingham-born singer-songwriter
STEVE ANDREW enjoys an account of the many communities that flourished independently of and in resistance to the empires of old
TOM STONE urges you to catch the last dates of a New York singer/songwriter, never afraid to challenge her audiences musically or politically
WITH a backdrop illuminated by vast Twitter feeds, constantly updated with chit-chat and gossip, Dear Evan Hansen begins with an unequivocal message: we are all connected. Living our lives online as much as in the physical world, this brave new existence can be a little disconcerting and its effect on our wellbeing is just beginning to be understood.
Enter Evan Hansen (Sam Tutty), a socially awkward teenager suffering with anxiety, whose therapist has advised him — though we’re never informed of the reasoning behind this — to write encouraging letters to himself at the beginning of each day.
Alas, things swiftly begin to unravel as his bullying classmate, Connor Murphy (Doug Colling), takes one of them and reads it aloud. This does no favours to Evan and his confidence.
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