Part of the joy of visiting the wonderful intimate Watermill Theatre near Newbury is to discover the cleverly designed innovative staging that fits into the tiny stage space of the venue. The creativity of a range of different shows such as Amelie, Christmas Carol, Bloodshot and Assassins is the hallmark of their productions. Covid has forced them out into their garden on temporary stages and it feels to me that this move has inhibited their creativity in staging the shows into a more one-dimensional production at the risk of disruption by the weather. It was a bold move to produce outdoor seasons in 2020 and 2021, perhaps even an essential move to produce necessary income and we must always celebrate their endeavour and ambition.
The final production of their 2021 season is the musical Just So, written by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe in 1984, their first work and first staged at the Watermill in 1990. They have gone on to record many writing credits in West End, but this musical is a pleasantly melodic score with hints of Music Hall and pops with a dash of reggae and rap without being memorable or hummable. This Watermill revival is a semi-staged concert with another talented cast of actor-musicians but unlike last year’s concert of Camelot, the music is not good enough to sustain the format for the over two-hour running time.
