The Prince Of Egypt
Format: Musical
Genre: Drama
Cast: Luke Brady, Liam Tamne, Christine Allado, Mercedesz Csampai, Debbie Kurup, Joe Dixon, Adam Pearce, Tanisha Spring, Alexia Khadime, Silas Wyatt-Barke & Gary Wilmot
Review Date: February 13 2020
Performances: February 5 2020-September 12 2020, 7.30pm & 2.30pm Matinees
Location: Dominion Theatre, London
Duration: 180 Minutes incl. Interval
Age Rating: 8+
The Prince Of Egypt brings the popular 1998 Dreamworks movie to the stage in style, with a big-budget production that will make it to the all-time favourite lists of everybody in attendance at London’s Dominion Theatre.
Synopsis
As with the original movie, The Prince Of Egypt focuses on the story of Moses (Luke Brady), who was born amidst the declaration by Pharaoh Seti (Joe Dixon) that new-born Hebrew boys would be killed, and so he is placed in a basket that is sent across the River Nile. He is found by Queen Tuya (Debbie Kurup), who just happens to be the wife of the Pharaoh, and it is she who gives Moses his name. Many years later, we see the now grown-up Moses and his brother Ramses (Liam Tamne) causing general mischief to the annoyance of their father, with his powerful, dictator-esque ruling of the country still proving to be dominant, as well as proving detrimental to the Hebrews who are forced to work essentially as slaves under his control.
At this stage, Moses is viewed by his family as a future heir to the kingdom, but Ramses is viewed as a weak link. Moses sticks up for his brother and convinces Seti to give him an official title, which later proves to be problematic for the relationship between the two siblings. In the meantime, Moses begins to realise the terrible living and working conditions for the Hebrews and emphasises with them, particularly when he discovers that he himself was born a Hebrew, and despite the continuous praise by his family, he realises that he is not truly one of them. He is further angered by the discovery that his father, Seti, is responsible for the continuous mistreatment of the Hebrews.
Therefore, he stands up for his religion, and in the resultant fracas, he becomes accidentally responsible for the killing of a guard, which convinces him that he has to leave Egypt. He ends up in the desert, where he meets a collective group of Hebrews, one of whom is Tzipporah (Christine Allado), who had previously been chased out of the Palace by the Pharaoh and their family. While the other Hebrews welcome Moses into their group, Tzipporah is initially distrustful, until an extended conversation with Moses leads her to realise that he has good intentions. This sparks a relationship between the two, during which time Seti’s health fails him following a previous battle, leading to his death. Ramses is anointed as the new Pharaoh, and he starts to revel in his new-found position. That is, until Moses returns alongside Tzipporah with the intention of setting the Hebrews free once and for all, which ultimately lays the foundation for the remainder of the show, as the family conflict lies at the centre of a historic culture clash which is still told across school classrooms and within religious literature to this very day.
Analysis
We were promised a major production with The Prince Of Egypt, and that is exactly what we got. The songs (which included Deliver Us, All I Ever Wanted, Through Heaven’s Eyes and the most famous tune from the tale, When You Believe, are all sung to the highest standard imaginable. The dance sequences for the Hebrews are authentic and eye-catching. The story as a whole is highly compelling with numerous twists and unexpected switches in the fortunes of major characters, aided by the historical significance of these particular moments. The stage is very unique, with the platform appearing to resemble the shape of Egypt itself, with this being raised up during certain scenes that, without giving anything away, makes some particularly crucial moments seem even more exciting. The background screen provided plenty of visuals to wow the audience (which incidentally covered all ages), setting the mood perfectly for both dramatic occurences of battle and emotional scenes of struggle. The stage directions for the dancers and other extras impressed me, taking small occurrences that would be easily overlooked otherwise and turning them into spectacular moments.
And then we come to the performances themselves. Luke Brady does an awesome job, from both an acting and singing perspective, as Moses, and fits the role perfectly. Liam Tamne demonstrates his versatility in the role of Ramses by being a cheeky scamp, a sympathetic outcast and a heartless dictator at various points. Christine Allado comes into her own during the second half as Tzipporah, at which stage she goes from being a secondary player to a vital member of the cast. There are plenty of other strong performances as well, though, because the cast as a whole work together extremely well and live up to all audience expectations.
Summary
If you’re heading to London and you can only make it to one West End show, we strongly urge you to make sure that it is The Prince Of Egypt. A little on the long side, perhaps, but gripping from beginning to end with special effects, singing and storytelling to create memories that will last for a long time to come, this is a must-see production that will one day be remembered by theatre aficionados as being amongst the greatest.
Notes
Target Audience: 8+
Content: Some Mild Threat
Recommendation: Yes
Overall Rating: 10/10 – Perfect
The Prince Of Egypt runs at the Dominion Theatre until Saturday September 12 2020. To buy tickets, click here or call 020 7927 0900.
