Musical Review: Phantom of the Opera

Edinburgh Playhouse

I’ve been writing about theatre and performance for more than two years now yet Phantom was one show I’d never seen. For many it remains the quintessential theatrical experience (it’s the longest running show on Broadway) and for me, having gazed upon the posters from a young age, the ominous gothic mask and the notion of a ‘phantom’ was oh so tantalising.

The tone and style of this production is theatre at its most striking. Fleeing actors, dark shadows, sheer drops, ornate costumes, a decadent opera house, a room of mirrors and of course, that chandelier. Phantom is a play within a play which means we are treated to various delectable sets, from tropical foreign lands to a towering gothic church. The presentation is mesmerising and the numerous sets consist of layer upon layer of platforms and rooms which shift, open, slide, rise and turn as though part of an elaborate Rubix Cube. Special effects also contribute to the drama with copious use of smoke machines (at one point engulfing the orchestral conductor), explosions and – my favourite - fierce pyrotechnics illustrating our disfigured villain’s considerable rage.

My usual theatre outing involves perching in a small venue where the budget is tight and the stage sparse. For that reason, it is immense fun to see what a seemingly bottomless budget can achieve in a large-scale show. Beneath all the opulence though, there’s a story and this is where I felt disappointed. The plot is simplistic and often clumsily expressed as our beautiful protagonist Christina is the textbook heroine, fleeing danger in a white gown, bosom heaving as she falls into the arms of various men. The Phantom is, at first, a frightening spectre (again, the production sees to this) but when he wrestles with his inner-conflict and throws himself to the floor whimpering, this was too much for me. There’s little, if any sense of knowing or understanding these characters in this bizarre gothic tale so I struggled to engage or sympathise with them. That they exist as ‘actors’ in the performance means each character often inhabits a role other than their own and this further inhibits any real understanding of their true motives. Sadly, in too many ways the grandeur overshadows the story itself and reflects its failings as we inevitably compare the astonishing visuals with a simplistic narrative.

The performers sing beautifully and the vocal range is impossible to fault. Christina and the Phantom especially poured emotion and feeling into every lyric, the melancholic high notes making the hair on my arms stand on end. The campness of the story though thwarted much of an emotional connection. The narrative is propelled through both song and speech, though the pace rarely feels right and there are character revelations which seem unexpected and clunky.

For me, the pageantry and drama is spectacular, the musical talent faultless but beneath lies a weaker and fragmented story told through predictable musical sequences and clichéd lyrics. Phantom is an hugely enjoyable spectacle but for me, it offered little else.


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