Review: Falling Stars, Union Theatre Online Stream

Photo credit: Paul Nicholas Dyke

Another casualty of the pandemic, Falling Stars was sadly forced to postpone its run at the Union Theatre earlier this month because of the current lockdown, but due to the creativity and innovation from all involved, the production was pulled together in only three days to be filmed for home audiences across the globe.

The musical revue forms a love letter to the iconic bygone era of the 1920’s. It pays homage to the composers, collaborators and publishers of the time by revisiting the decade through history and performance. The piece is set in an East Finchley antique shop, which unlocks a fire and passion within its main protagonist.

Falling Stars has been devised and written by the supremely talented Peter Polycarpou, who also stars in the production. He has an old movie star quality about him and effectively conveys the regularly untapped emotion within the songs he performs. When he addresses the camera directly, he draws you in entirely and it’s that charisma that holds your attention throughout. This can also be said of Sally Ann Triplett who acts as his perfect counterpart for the duration.

Triplett brings an effortless style to the piece and there is a lovely moment when she is captured in silhouette emulating the iconic shoulder roll and tip of the bowler hat in an obvious nod to the legendary Charlie Chaplin. ‘Falling Star’ from The Great Dictator is a personal highlight, as well as ‘Smile’ at the end of the piece from Modern Times and Irving Berlin’s stunning ‘What’ll I Do’. Triplett’s voice on the latter is just sublime.

Visually the staging is simple with just a few props and Andrew Exeter’s lighting gives an almost sepia quality, reflective of the time period. Each technical element comes together to support the overall vision, even before taking into account the luscious music.

Polycarpou’s writing is very nostalgic and has an undeniable warmth, to the point where it feels like it would also work brilliantly as a play text of sorts. Whilst occasionally it can be a little word heavy in between musical numbers, Michael Strassen’s direction ensures the seamless interlinking of dialogue and music. This is aided by the underscoring of the speech and the fluidity of the blocking.

The perfect tribute to a celebrated decade.

Falling Stars can be streamed online from 22-29 November and will be performed live at the Union Theatre on 9 & 10 January 2021.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Jenny Ell