Review: Once on this Island, at Regents Park Open Air Theatre

Since I saw this show I have not had a chance to breathe, let alone sit down and write. But fret not: I have my notes: I have a big cuppa tea: I have the wonderful Owain Wyn Evans blasting out of my speakers. 

Let's talk about Regents Park's opening show. Which is Once on this Island 

Once on this Island is a show I have heard talked about before, especially while the Broadway revival was playing, but haven't had the chance to watch live. 

It's written by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, the same creators behind Anastasia and Ragtime, and takes us to the Carribean. Haiti to be precise. 

Some have compared Once on this Island to be a The Little Mermaid adaptation, to which I say.... errr, I guess I can see some similarities... (How ironic in the time when Disney's live action The Little Mermaid comes out!) 

As said, Once on this Island is set on the island of Haiti, in a land of gods, and two different societies, never meant to meet. 

It's the story of orphan Ti Moune, who is sent on a journey by four gods (Asaka, Mother of the Earth: Agwe, god of water: Erzulie, goddess of love: and Papa Ge, sly demon of death), after she saves the life of lighter skinned beaux-homme Daniel, and falls in love with him. A journey to see whether love can conquer death. Or more specifically, whether a love between a beaux-homme and a darker-skinned peasant, can conquer death. 

Similar to Come From Away, this is a one act musical - straight through, no interval. And that definitely works in its favour. It's not the easiest story to follow at times. But it truly does feel like a fairy-tale. You can see some similarities with the original Hans Christian Anderson Little Mermaid, but it feels like it's own fairy-tale. 

We start the story with a song called We Dance. And you certainly would with this music. 

The songs are full of Caribbean beats that make you want to dance in the aisle, from calypso to reggae, tied in with some more traditional musical theatre tropes, though those come in more in the slower pieces such as The Human Heart. Incredibly well sung by the company, a vocal highlight being Anelisa Lamola (The Color Purple; The Wiz) as Asaka belting out the showstopper Mama Will Provide. 

If there is one star on this show however, it HAS to be Gabrielle Brooks (Twelfth Night)

Brooks shines as our Ti Moune. She sparkles with energy, radiates optimism and purpose. Yes, Ti Moune is a bit naïve, but that doesn't mean you don't root for her, and that's down to Brooks' performance. If you had the wrong person to play Ti Moune, it would have fallen flat - but this is the one they got as perfect as the honey rum themed cocktail they were serving in the bar.  

Not everything was quite polished, the prime being the song The Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes. If I were Ahrens & Flaherty, I would have left that on the cutting room floor, and put a piece in the programme (or Playbill for a Broadway audience) instead. It was a history lesson, they say so in the book - and in our audience, someone groaned when that line was said, which was admittedly hilarious. 

I definitely admire how creative the Regents Park team tried to make it though, with some really trippy puppetry, that reminded me both of Spitting Image, and Frank (that film with Michael Fassbender wearing a creepy papier-mâché mask). 

However, the number still came out of nowhere, and while it provided interesting context, we've seen enough stories of star-crossed lovers to get the general conflict idea. 

I'm not going to end this on a bad note though, so I am going to end it on my favourite, other than Brooks of course. 

That would be the costumes, especially for the gods. 

Melissa-Simon Hartman didn't make it easy for herself, as the only person who doesn't chop and change between different characters was Ti Moune herself (and the two little girls observing the story). Like I said, the gods' costumes were the ones that stood out for me: Agwe looking like a Napoleonic general: Erzulie's blue sun crown: Asaka looking like she literally grew up from the ground. And my absolute personal favourite: Papa Ge was giving full on Dr Facilier vibes, with the skull top hat, purple coat and cane, heavily inpsired by the voudou traditions of the island.

Once on this Island runs only until this week, so if you fancy a trip to Haiti, you need to get in quick. 

Sadly, Regents Park wasn't as packed as I thought it would be - certainly not BUSY as when I saw Legally Blonde last year. I hope it has a fantastic last week, because I think, while it's not perfect, people need to give this show a chance.  

And if you're lucky enough, you can get a sunset as beautiful as this just as the show finishes. 

Stunning Regents Park post-show