The Curious Case of Benjamin Button musical review: Intriguing but exhausting

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button musical review: ★★★★ Let’s face it, when thinking about classic novels that stir the soul, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is among the weirdest. The idea of a bloke who ages backwards is unnerving, but nevertheless the novel – and subsequent film with Brad Pitt [...]

Nov 14, 2024 - 15:00

Clare Foster as Elowen Keene and John Dagleish as Benjamin Button in a rousing but sometimes emotionally stunted production

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button musical review: ★★★★

Let’s face it, when thinking about classic novels that stir the soul, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is among the weirdest. The idea of a bloke who ages backwards is unnerving, but nevertheless the novel – and subsequent film with Brad Pitt – are singular examinations of loneliness that somehow suspend disbelief.

This musical adaptation is even more puzzling than the novel. In bringing kernels of Fitzgerald’s off-kilter magic into palpable form, it loses much of the novel’s emotional heft. Jethro Compton’s production features a nearly three-hour folk music playlist by Darren Clark, played live by the actors who double as musicians. It often captivates, certainly for the first forty-five minutes, but the endlessly upbeat score eventually begins to drain you; the music becomes too repetitive and never-ending, diluting the text.

Compton’s script also veers too often into narrative descriptions of what’s going on rather than showing us by slowing the music down for a second and letting people do some acting. The deeply troubling realities of ageing backwards, and losing loved ones, doesn’t often suit a knee-slapping good time.

There are also some clunky directorial choices, including a baby Benjamin Button prop carelessly thrown into a stage pit. Rather than suggesting anything metaphorical about the character it comes across literally, like they’re throwing a prop down a hole.

It’s not the fault of the company; if you want to see a fine folk musical sing-a-long, this is it. John Dagleish grips as Benjamin Button but you need two actors, one for the younger version and one for the older; having him put on a yellow jacket to go from middle-aged to twenty-something doesn’t quite cut it.

Altogether it’s intriguing but also exhausting.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button musical plays at the Ambassadors Theatre until 15 February