Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Review by Sam

⭐⭐⭐️⭐️

Dave Malloy brings his genre-bending, Tony Award nominated musical to the Donmar Warehouse for its UK premiere.

Based on a 70 page excert of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, The Great Comet tells a scandalous story of Moscow’s High Society. Whilst awaiting for the return of her fiancé, Natasha Rostova falls under the spell of Anatole, leaving Pierre to piece back her reputation. The show bursts to life from the word go, as the Donmar’s immersive staging is utilised within the opening moments to project spine-tingling harmonies across the theatre. “Prologue” perfectly introduces the complex characters to the audience in an incredibly playful yet captivating way. With the production being entirely sung-through, I occasionally found it difficult to follow Malloy’s melodies and lyrics, however this never detracted from my overall enjoyemnt of the piece.

Tim Sheader’s direction is quite simply phenomenal. He has crafted a highly creative production which elevates deeply layered art to a dazzlingly beautiful degree. The staging feels intimate yet grand, as Leslie Travers’ gorgeously rich set design combined with Howard Hudson’s striking lighting design bleeds colour and life onto the stage. The combination of creative choices and incredible perfomances create a truly unique theatrical experience.

The ensemble are nothing short of spectacular, with each engrossing performance drawing audiences into the text. However, the standout was Declan Bennett who shines defiantly as Piere, delivering a spinetingling rendition of “Dust and Ashes”. Maimuna Memon is heartbreakingly gorgeous with her richly layered performance that leans heavily into emotion, whilst Jamie Muscato is devilishly engrossing and highly charismatic as Anatole. Along with the entire ensemble, Muscato performs my stand out number, “The Abduction”, with bundles of charisma and humour.

The Great Comet is the kind of theatre which simply gets better with age. The more I think about the immense creativity surrounding the musical, the more dazzled I am by its sheer beauty, and can’t wait to witness this ‘complicated Russian novel’ unfold again.