Fanny at King’s Head Theatre
In a time when women were expected to be homemakers, Fanny Mendelssohn (Charlie Russell) dared to dream that the tide might change. For years, she collaborated with her brother, composer Felix Mendelssohn (Daniel Abbott), the two of them feeding off each other’s creativity. However, their relationship is thrown into jeopardy when Fanny learns – via their other brother Paul (Jeremy Lloyd), who may lack talent but is one of the comedic highlights of the play – that the piece favoured by Queen Victoria was in fact her own. Resolute and angry, she decides to go to London with the ever-enamoured, pun-loving Wilhelm (Riad Richie), and perform in Felix’s stead. All she wants is to take her rightful place: on stage, conducting an orchestra.
Written by Calum Finlay and directed by Katie-Ann McDonough, Fanny is both frenetic and touching, at its best when Mendelssohn and her music take centre stage. Russell shines throughout, particularly when the writing allows her full expressive range. The tavern sequence is a perfect example of well-managed chaos that serves the plot, propels the narrative, and pulls the viewer in. Most importantly, it offers a window into Fanny’s relationship with music and her creative process, how external inputs feed her imagination. It’s mesmerising to watch, not merely hearing her love for art but seeing it fully realised. She even recruits an audience member to strike the bell on stage. The scene is cleverly written and brilliantly acted and improvised by Russell, who, after accidentally breaking two glass bottles, recreates the sound herself. The audience can’t help but erupt in laughter, delighted and thoroughly entertained.
However, there are moments when the chaotic comedy – perhaps the desire to insert fun at all costs – undermines the more emotionally charged parts. The carriage chase, for instance, is cartoonish and overstays its welcome, feeling more overwhelming than entertaining at times. For a play about music, there’s rather a lot of shouting. Rebecka’s character arc (Danielle Phillips) feels like a missed opportunity to explore female solidarity and the complexities of sisterhood. Her rage becomes more of a plot device than a fully realised emotional arc. While Fanny’s act of tearing down the curtains at the end of act one feels cathartic and liberatory, her sister’s outbursts gradually lose their meaning and comedic power.
The comedy lands best in the subtleties: Fanny’s mother, Lea (played with dry wit and precision by Kim Ismay), delivers some of the sharpest humour through her self-awareness and restraint, while Lloyd’s shifts between characters inject the play with an element of unpredictability. Sophia Pardon’s set and costume design also deserve special mention. The world she creates feels both grounded and imaginative, filled with clever details that echo the play’s central theme of creativity constrained by domestic life.
The beginning and end of the play mirror each other in a beautiful way: Fanny, once again, conducting her imaginary orchestra within her home, living out the dream that society won’t let her fulfil publicly.
Benedetta Mancusi
Photo: Photographise
Fanny is at King’s Head Theatre until 15th November 2025. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.
Watch the trailer for Fanny at King’s Head Theatre here:
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