Pacific Overtures (Menier Chocolate Factory) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (23)
See it if Ambitious and fun new oroduction of the rarely staged Sondheim musical about Japanese engagement with the West. Engaging small scale.
Don't see it if You don’t like gender blind casting and aren’t prepared to think about what you are watching. Read more
See it if You like musicals of the great composer and lyricist Sondheim. This time with a Japanese flavour.
Don't see it if You don't like small theatres with a limited set desing and small, not very comfortable seats.
See it if You're interested in less-performed Sondheim on a smaller scale, cleverly utilizing limited space.
Don't see it if You prefer larger scale, epic musicals with perhaps more topical themes. Read more
See it if You're a Sondheim fan and want a strong production of a rarely performed show
Don't see it if You're not a Sondheim fan.
See it if you like a great score and don’t mind a confusing plot or subpar lyrics
Don't see it if you want a narrative that’s well balanced or paced
See it if You want to learn something about Japanese history/culture/traditions, you’re a Sondheim fan, you want to see immense and diverse talent!
Don't see it if History isn’t your thing.
See it if You like Musicals with a great plot and songs that don't sound the same. You don't mind no interval.
Don't see it if You like big show tunes and fantasy type shows. This is based on historical events.
See it if You like sondheim
Don't see it if You have a hard time understanding lyrics
Critic Reviews (14)
"The aim of the musical at this specific point in time is fairly ambiguous, but White’s production is surprisingly tasteful. He honours tradition with creativity and tact, maintaining a steady grip on the tone of his concept and delivering it with sensitivity and charm. All in all, this is probably the best way one could stage the material these days"
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“This is the first revival of Sondheim’s singular, peculiar musical since his death in 2021 and it is a wonderful, bijou surprise.”
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"It is thrilling to see this lesser-performed Sondheim piece staged with such zest and imagination. It’s one of the most original and ebullient musicals in town."
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“There’s much admirable detail here – the use of Japanese puppetry, integration of origami and video wizardry, and you can’t fault the cast in bearing, or vocal execution. The show, though, remains sui generis – slippery, even slight, hard to respond warmly to (perhaps knowingly so), and, despite a few achingly lovely songs, arguably falling short of a Sondheim masterpiece.”
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“Even if you’re a Sondheim sceptic you’ll be startled to see just how entertaining — as well as thought-provoking — this stripped-down collaboration with the Osaka-based Umeda Arts Theater turns out to be...Matthew White’s production possesses the tantalising, ethereal beauty of scenes sketched on a vase.”
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“Yet the melancholy strain that underpins the show, the sense of something valuable lost as well as modernity gained, somehow goes missing.”
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“Dissonance is the show’s subject, yet we still crave dramatic coherence, and that remains elusive here. Still, this is a rare chance to see this little-revived show – and to marvel at its glittering fragments.”
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This revised version, despite being so successful in Japan, does seem to be missing something though, and that might not help this musical to eventually reach the prominence of other Sondheim works.
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