South Pacific revival gets mixed reviews

The production stars former EastEnders actress Samantha Womack and Brazilian opera singer Paulo Szot

The London revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific has opened to mixed reviews from critics.

    The Lincoln Center Theatre production set during World War II stars former EastEnders actress Samantha Womack and Brazilian opera singer Paulo Szot.
The Telegraph called the show a "continuous pleasure" and praised its "vivid and fresh" performances.
However The Independent described it as "a highly accomplished, but faintly bland and traditional treatment".
Known for its songs including I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair and There is Nothing Like a Dame, the production won seven Tony awards when it ran for two years at New York's Lincoln Center.
But The Independent's Paul Taylor the Barbican show "insufficiently" lived up to expectation.

 "Unfortunately, there's next to no sexual chemistry between the two leading performers," he wrote.
"That's symptomatic of a production that seems to have lost something in crossing the Atlantic and is deficient in that spark that turns respect into rapture."
The Telegraph's Charles Spencer said: "Though not quite as lavish as the original Lincoln Center production, this touring version with beautiful South Sea island designs and a fine 25-piece pit orchestra making the most of the brilliant score, still proves a moving and uplifting experience."
He praised Szot, who also starred in the Broadway production, saying he "brings charm, authority and a sense of Gallic melancholy" to plantation owner Emile de Becque, while Womack was a "delightfully engaging" nurse Nellie.
Meanwhile Michael Billington of The Guardian said it made for a "pleasant evening", but added "because only two of the original cast have made the journey [from the US production], it is a little hard to see why New Yorkers got so excited".
"The best reason for seeing this revival is to catch the Brazilian-born baritone Paulo Szot as Emile... but while Samantha Womack sings well as Nellie, it's a conscientious but cautious performance," he said.
All three reviewers however praised Loretta Ables Sayre for her portrayal of Tonkinese pedlar Bloody Mary with Taylor calling her "the island's souvenir-seller".
The production runs at The Barbican until 1 October before embarking on a nationwide tour from 12 October in Milton Keynes.

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