Momo

'Momo' at Stratford Circus was written by the esteemed Michael Ende of 'The Never-Ending Story', so of course expectations for the production were high. What followed these expectations was less a tale of enchanting adventure and more, a failed attempt at literary significance.

curiousmum.co.uk

The story follows a small community who live happily together in an amphitheatre, albeit owned by a rather creepy mayor. However, as the story unfolds, 'Momo' appears and the peaceful community is threatened by the men in grey - essentially 'Time Stealers'. The rest of the play follows Momo's attempts to save her friends from despair and ultimately restore the community back to what it once was.

The concept of time was applaudable, Mende was clearly trying to make a statement about modern society and the way it rushes around as though its time has run out. However, the protagonist was quite weak and I feel it drew from the message. It had nothing to do with her acting; the character of Momo just never does anything spectacular and yet all of the other characters seem to hold her on a pedestal above everyone else. They thank her when she says nothing, they say she's special when all she does is sit next to them. It just seemed a little... empty. I felt like Momo needed some strong lines to reflect her so-called wisdom and yet, she had nothing but childish giggles and a lack of syllables.

flament-theatre.com

Momo's words (or lack of) held her back but other characters were completely lacking in presence. For example, the lord of time himself had absolutely no stage presence as the nutty time professor or as the lowly sweeper. Adebayo Bolaji however, stood out as the star of the show alongside Kimberley Blake and Sandra Marvin as Nina.

officiallondontheatre.co.uk

Another thing I'm not quite sure always worked were the harmonies, the constant choral passages throughout the show. Although individually the cast had adequate voices, I'm not sure that they mixed well together. However, there was a part in the play that this changed for me. When the 'men in grey' are all singing different phrases at staggered intervals it was extremely gratifying to see it done so well. The voices here had clearly been the most rehearsed and it shone through as the best musical performance of the night. Alongside this, the physical performance of the men in grey later in the performance as Momo gets ever closer to releasing all of her friends from time's oppression also impressed.

stagereview.co.uk

The puppetry was a little half-hearted although performed well when it did appear. The set is perhaps one of the plays redeeming features. With light bulbs strung from the ceiling and clocks giving off a steampunk feel to fit the theme of the play. A particular favourite moment for the visuals, was when the children were playing make believe and the use of cloths and movement made the stage a spectacle. However, it soon returned to normality and lacked the same oomph in the second half.

The movement certainly held potential, the set was symbolic yet minimalistic, the cast looked to find energy from anywhere giving it (including the youth choir that accompanied them at certain intervals) although sometimes failed. It was a shame, there was the potential for a great production but the script was the thing letting it down. It didn't help that the cast broke the fourth wall when welcoming the youth choir on stage. It kind of broke up the magic. Despite some of them having great voices, there is nothing less illuminating than a bunch of kids who can't be bothered to learn the lyrics to the song they are supposed to sing along to. The play itself was a let down, the production was definingly average. Although, the kids seemed to like it.