Review: THE MUSICIAN: A HORROR OPERA FOR CHILDREN, Belfast Ensemble

The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children retells the familiar story of ‘The Pied Piper of Hamlin’ as an origin story, and is presented by The Belfast Ensemble as part of this year’s Belfast Children’s Festival, which has had to move to a digital setting this year. 

We learn how the Piper’s infamous journey began from the unkindness that he faced on the streets as a young orphan and as such, he only shows generosity to others. When a travelling musician comes to town, the piper shows him extreme kindness and in return the man mystifies him with his musical abilities. The power of the music consumes the piper and eventually buries his good nature.  

 The creation of the production is almost a one-man band in Conor Mitchell who has written, directed, composed, produced and designed the show. His story creates a positive message to the target audience in the retelling of such a familiar story and he has been able to create a gripping backstory, which teaches how good nature can be influenced by external sources. 

The set design is simple yet effective with a small artificial grass-raked stage, which is surrounded by the orchestra, led by conductor Tom Brady. There is also a screen which is used to put important words up throughout the piece.  

The cast is small with the stand-out performer being the mysterious traveller who acts as the narrator. This role is played by Matthew Cavan who is intriguing, informative and yet manages to pitch his performance safely between patronising and too mature. He is the perfect narrator as he is always present but constantly manages to ensure the focus is kept on the main characters and keeping the momentum of the piece, yet subtly putting in the best performance in the show. 

Cavan is joined by Paul Carey Jones as the Musician, Sarah Richmond as the Boy, Rebecca Murphy as the Vile Little Girl and Maeve McGreevy as the Solo Mouse Dancer. The cast all have exceptional voices and the range they demonstrate is impressive, yet it feels hard to fully connect with the piece at times as some of the operatic tones used feel detached to the age that it is aimed at, especially with the running time being just over an hour. 

Each performer puts in an excellent turn as their character and really manage to deliver a pin-point performance, which is engaging and delivered at the right tempo. Sarah Richmond as the Boy features in almost every scene and is pleasing and emphatic in her use of facial expressions and vocal tone to make us really invest in her character.  

For a ‘Horror Opera’, the piece isn’t too scary for children and it is visually stunning in its use of bright colours to engage the children. The costumes are wonderfully thought out by Laura Firby as they are very simple yet manage to use symbolism effectively. 

The piece is a good watch and is available until the end of the day on 14 March here.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Emma Littler