Musical Review: Roll on The Day

I don't remember the last time I saw a musical in such an intimate setting as the Etcetera Theatre in Camden Town. I think theatregoers are so used to seeing musicals on a big stage with over the top sets, lighting and costumes that it can distract us from the story being told or even the characters telling us the story. This was not the case at the musical , Roll on The Day , written and composed by Laurence Mark Wythe and Roberto Trippini for A Stage Kindly , a musical initiative which sets out to support new musical theatre and modern opera. Melodic and tense piano music opens the show inviting the audience to enter the worlds of two of our main characters: Eko, a Nigerian illegal immigrant who is selling his works of art and Dan , a cockney street vendor peddling cheesy souvenirs to tourists at Green Park station right near Buckingham palace. Eko played by Amersackie Osakanor and Dan played by Sean Keating kick off the show with friendly musical banter about sex, London and even Eko's struggle to make the journey from Nigeria to the UK capital ten years ago. These opening numbers are comedic and engaging. The actors let themselves break the so-called fourth wall by making full eye contact with the audience making us feel as if we were passer-bys on that busy London street. Enter the lovely Lavinia , an American art enthusiast played by American-born Kendra McMillan. Lavinia falls in love with Eko's work and commissions him to create a painting of his Africa for her. Eko then sings with joy that he has finally reached his own sort of atonement for his rebellious past. However, things are not what they seem. Our sweet American art lover, Lavinia turns out to be an English tabloid journalist and Dan our amusing street vendor is actually an undercover copper who are both involved in a plot to reveal Eko's revolutionary past and status as an illegal. Osakanor may not be the strongest singer of the cast, but plays the character with so much charisma that it is easy to bear the one or two notes he sings off key. He is the kind of performer who is not afraid to engage directly with the audience and even stared at me during one of his solos to the point where I felt myself blushing. Meanwhile both Keating and McMillan hit perfect pitch on every song. In fact , the duet they do is the title number and the strongest of the show. McMillan's voice is clear , has a wide range and she radiates on stage. Keating possesses powerful vocals and the right stage moves making for a perfect combination for musical theatre. This musical is topical and politically charged. It reveals some ugly truths about the current intolerance towards immigration in this country and possibly a side of British society we don't always like to see. I must admit that I was quite disappointed about how abruptly the musical ended. It seemed to come out of nowhere and right when the story really started to pick up. The show was just under an hour and I was left wanting to find out what was to happen next to our characters after the volatile climax in the plot. Who knows? Maybe that was their intention! Roll On The Day is on now until Sunday 15th April 2012 at the Etcetera Theatre.