Handel’s Messiah: The Live Experience at Theatre Royal Drury Lane

The grandeur and majesty of Handel’s musical composition, Messiah, permeate Theatre Royal Drury Lane for one night only with a magnificent vocal performance. Thoroughly infused with hope and the powerful presence of the choir, this production distinguishes itself by a modern approach and merging of multiple artistic elements in one show. Production company Classical Everywhere aimed to bring the 300-year-old score to a contemporary audience, dusting off any perception of stiffness, by using lots of visual elements. It’s difficult to describe the result as “immersive”, but rather a more engaging experience than a traditional one.

The Messiah historically lacks a solid dramatic form or a narrative backbone, being instead a collection of reflections from the Bible (a common subject for this genre). Therefore, there are no changes in scene or impersonations of characters, but the singers poetically deliver prophecies of the birth of Jesus first, then praises and commentaries about Christmas, and eventually, the Resurrection. With such a loose plot, the risk of getting lost is just around the corner for those not very familiar with this art form. What keeps the thread together is the choral concert.

The choreography by Tom Jackson Greaves, executed by three dancers moving both on stage and among the stalls, sinuously weaves through the lyrics. In the background, slotted between the two wings of orchestra and choir, a screen regularly captures the eyes of the audience: following the overall rhythm, the projected graphics (by the international design studio Flora and Faunavisions GMBH) assume a monumental aspect for the first part (a rising sun in the overture, an eclipse, a desert stone), changing, then, into colourful dynamic rays for the second part, and into blurred shapes in the third segment. It very much mirrors the engagement of the production: slow and somewhat distant at the beginning, picking up pace and vibrant from the middle onwards. The abstract figures are recalled visually across the whole space in clever coordination with the lights.

Recited poems, in the form of monologues and a final dialogue, alternating the voice of a mother (Martina Laird) and a son (Arthur Darvill), offer further reflective prompts, especially on the connection between light and hope, feelings and nature.

The English Chamber provides the finest of performances, an invigorating celebration of sounds matched by the mighty inputs of the choruses. These were indeed the focal point of Handel, and so of this 2022 rendition: expanding the space – hence the protagonism – of the singing ensemble, which develops an imposing and celestial character.

Cristiana Ferrauti
Photos: Craig Fuller

Handel’s Messiah: The Live Experience, a production by Classical Everywhere, was at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 6^th December 2022. For further information visit the website here.