It was the biggest reaction to a star entrance I’ve ever seen in a theatre. A few minutes into the world premiere of Paddington The Musical, the (human) actors stepped aside to reveal a small ursine figure, who quietly took in the Savoy stage with his warm brown eyes, snout raised to sniff the air. Over 1,000 audience members gasped, cheered and ecstatically applauded.
We have been feverishly speculating about the Paddington mystery ever since this West End musical, inspired by Michael Bond’s books and the equally gorgeous films, was announced. While the rest of the cast, which includes veteran actress Bonnie Langford as Mrs Bird, and creative team, led by composer Tom Fletcher (of McFly), book writer Jessica Swale and director Luke Sheppard, was announced in advance, all info on the Paddington actors and designers has been kept top secret – until now. So, how on earth do you put a bear on stage? I wondered if we might see a puppet, à la War Horse or Disney’s Frozen, or a high-tech animatronic or virtual avatar.
However, the solution is deliberately theatrical. The show boasts not one Paddington performer but two, working as a team. Ahead of the bear’s appearance a hoodie-wearing young man, played by James Hameed, sings, as the character, about his voyage from Peru. Hameed then departs and his voice (from offstage) emerges from the bear’s lip-synced mouth; the actor also remotely puppeteers Paddington’s face.
The bear is played onstage by Arti Shah, who is just under 4ft, inside a furry Paddington suit. The ground-breaking idea was posed to producers Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley by Oscar-winning Star Wars creature effects artist Neal Scanlan, and indeed the bear (designed by Tahra Zafar) initially reminded me of a friendly Ewok.
Paddington the Musical – Johan Persson
As the transfixed four-year-old girl sitting beside me, clutching her Paddington teddy, clearly believed: the toy had magically come to life. But, crucially, after the big reveal we stopped watching the mechanics and simply watched Paddington.
Whenever someone was mean to Paddington, there were audible groans from the audience. We all wanted to look after this bear who needs a family and is so much visibly smaller than the London commuters shoving past him in the train station.
It’s a new experience watching this tangibly solid Paddington live as he charges chaotically around the Browns’ house, like a toddler crossed with a puppy. He also has a range of expressions, whether tipping his red hat politely with a fuzzy paw or gaping his mouth open in wonder.
Paddington the Musical – Johan Persson
He sang, and though his dancing was limited, he did wiggle his bottom while delivering a hard stare – to my young companion’s giggling delight. When he donned that famous duffle coat, the audience went wild: it was like watching Superman get his cape.
This kind, good-hearted, unifying character has always made me proud to be British and the new stage incarnation left me wiping away a few tears at the end. Paddington just wants to belong. Now, he is at home in the West End.
At the Savoy Theatre until May 25; paddingtonthemusical.com
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