"This production is full to the brim with splendid touches...A live band at the back led by musical director Chris Poon on keys gives the ever-vivacious singing a fine platform to reach the sky."
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" 'Once On This Island' is a brisk, energising piece of theatre. It’ll be even better on a hot night."
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"For all its charms, ‘Once on This Island’ feels caught between a Disney-ish over-simplicity and a desire to say something a bit more profound about class and race...But the score is glorious, and the talent on display here is undeniable."
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"If this brisk, 90-minute show has a flaw it’s that much of the simple tale is told through the lyrics. Given the outdoor acoustics it’s possible to miss details."
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"The band give us a vibrant rendering of the calypso, soca and reggae-packed score...So, a slightly uneven opening to the Park’s 2023 summer season, moodier in both tone and weather than might be expected, but it’s still well worth a trip to this thought-provoking island."
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"The entire ensemble is exemplary, generating enough heat and energy to keep proceedings afloat. But everything, from the characters to the plotting, feels surface-skimming; it leaves you intermittently beguiled, but longing for more depth."
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“It’s a shame that the book doesn’t quite hit the same notes as the music and lyrics, but ultimately this production of Once On This Island is eminently enjoyable and brings the French Antilles to the heart of Regent’s Park”
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"It’s not a massive musical in terms of scale and ambition, and this may not be the staging that admirers of the work thought they were getting, but it still packs a shattering double-punch of joy and raw emotion. Definitely one to see."
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