Sylvia

Sylvia: A Musical Revolution has been on my wish list since it opened at The Old Vic in 2023, and to be watching it on Pankhurst home turf added a little extra magic and pride to the evening.  There is an anticipation that any story involving the Pankhurst’s will be full of fire, spirit, grit, and determination, and that it will find a way to tell the story without the need to follow the status quo.  It has challenged, rewritten without misleading, and reinvented these women until it has achieved its goal of placing them firmly in todays world without taking away yesterdays fight.  This may be a story from the early 1900’s, but its questions surrounding what equality truly means are retroflected into todays society through its hip hop, funk and soul infused music.  It makes our history our today and forces us to ask valuable questions about what equality means.  Sylvia is more than an Olivier Award-winning musical.  It’s a vital piece of our history that challenges, demands, rebels, and lights a fuse in your belly to be better, do better, and to think better.

When the Pankhurst’s are mentioned, everyone automatically thinks of Emmeline, but her daughter, Sylvia, went beyond her mother’s work to truly embrace equality, ensuring the rights of women and men were inclusive to the working classes.  This musical places Sylvia firmly in the spotlight as we watch her grow from a loyal, dutiful daughter, to a questioning, independent, free thinking political powerhouse!  As her mother Emmeline and sister Christabel believed in the war efforts, Sylvia finds herself stepping solo onto a path of socialism and pacifism, giving a voice to those who don’t have one.  As her loyalties ricocheted her towards equality for the working-class communities, tensions become untenable with Emmeline.  Sylvia: A Musical Revolution is a tug of war between the love of mother, daughter and siblings, and their very differing visions of how the world should be.  As the rift tears through their relationship, we witness imprisonment, hunger strikes that lead to brutal force feeding, political clashes that are met with determined resilience, and arguments about ideals batted back and forth with enough impassioned energy to give you whiplash.  The Pankhurst’s were a force to be reckoned with, of that there is no doubt, and the story is very careful not to suggest who is wrong or right, but one thing is for sure, whilst the Pankhurst’s may not have been able to agree on how change should be implemented and who it should include, they all agreed it was very much needed, and there is no doubt they all made that happen.  But for the Pankhurst’s, the fight would never be over.  There was always more to be done, and so perhaps this show is a call to arms to never sit idly by, and watch inequality unfold before you.  Speak up, speak out and dig in.      

Directed and choreographed by the unstoppable force of nature that is Kate Prince, this was always going to be spectacular without being turned into a spectacle.  Prince intuits change, her work pulsing with an instinct to be trusted, breathing life, message, and storytelling through every medium possible.  She uses humans, bodies and expression to relate a thousand words, keeping the show at a heady pace and translating history through movement.  It is divine, powerful, and strong and so clearly her work.  It allows the whole cast to breathe as one, whisking us through history, location, and each defining protest with concise clarity.  With music and score by Josh Cohen and DJ Walde, the idea of fusion and change are celebrated, creating an epic musical soundtrack of hip-hop, funk, and soul that capture a feisty mix of humour, emotion, fire, passion, and rebellion.  The harmonies are delicious, the band flawless, and with songs such as ‘The Split,’ ‘March Women March,’ ‘Be The Change,’ ‘Make Some Noise,’ and ‘I’ll Stay By Your Side,’ you will be left emotionally wrung out from every angle possible. 

Ben Stones has designed a set that is monochrome, a reflection of the opportunities available to women at the time.  But it is disrupted with brilliant strikes of red, perhaps representing the revolution to come.  Along with projections of the Suffragettes signage, the impact is effective, complimenting the story and allowing it to take centre stage.  An overall atmosphere is achieved of the strength of these women, supported by tiered steps to amplify their position when needed.  Lighting plays an effective role in the show, creating emphasis, power, emotion, and drama.  Designed by Hector Murray, it guides us to each character and their plight, capturing their strength in unity and their struggles but determination when solo.  Flickering cut lines are used to depict history, like looking at the cracks in an old photograph or old film damaged with age.  It is impactful, and a stark contrast to the booming purple hip hop lights that represent power.

The casting is phenomenal.  Anything that has the dynamic diva Beverly Knight in is already a winner in my eyes, but this entire cast match her standard and blend as one.  They unite in talent, chemistry, believability, and ability to make us emote, making them their own unrivalled movement of strength.  Naomi Katiyo is dynamite as Sylvia Pankhurst.  We not only see the powerhouse she was, but the one that she still is today, and imagine exactly how she would be in todays’ world.  She would get stuff done!  She commands the stage with magnetic ease, whether that be vocally, physically, or just her mere presence!  Beverley Knight is the undeniable Emmeline Pankhurst and I am still in awe that I finally got to see her perform live!  What an experience!  Seriously!  You feel her presence in a way words can’t explain and it does wonders for the role and performance.  It goes without saying that you experience a vocal masterclass with Beverley Knight.  She makes you feel all the feels from heartache to gutsy rebellion spirit, but also every complex twist and turn along the way.  This performance leaves you in no doubt as to why she won an Olivier for the role!  And when Katiyo and Knight are paired in scenes together, the outside world stops, and there is just that moment.  Nothing else.  It is mesmerising.  Tachia Newall as labour party founder Keir Hardie is not only brilliant but performed in such a way that offers balance to the difference elements.  He is the polar opposite of the highly charged Pankhurst’s, oozing calmness, charm and charisma.  He walks a difficult political part with ease, balancing his sympathy with practicality and even plays it with modern humour as he realises he is ‘mansplaining.’ 

Ellena Vincent brings us just about everything as Christabel, whether she is singing, rapping, acting, dancing, or showing us how she gets things done through actions!  Kirstie Skivington as Adela is less aggressive but just as strong, offering contrast and bringing us a softer edge and emotional depth from a new vantage point.  It adds weight to the fractures within the family.  Uzuazo O’David as Harry Pankhurst offers an interesting role as we see a male being ignored and undervalued by Emmeline, not trusting her son to be involved.  His scenes with Sylvia are gorgeous, loving, and show a wise head on young shoulders.  Ivano Turco as Silvio also provides emotional nuance and balance with a strong performance, whilst Kelly Agbowu as Flora and Drummond brings a British humour, brilliant swagger, and a different style of authority.  Kenedy Small as Jennie Churchill makes us laugh time and time again with her exquisite ability to bring us a split personality, especially as she flits between accents.  She absolutely rocks it when she gets her dance on!  Collette Guitart as Clementine Churchill brings a wonderful level of cool, calm and controlled wit that outsmarts and outplays the men in her world, and she does it all with charming delight.  Castell Parker as Churchill is perfectly pompous, vile, and loathsome, and portrayed in a clever way.

There are so many powerful moments within this show that it often becomes overwhelming to process.  One stand out is when the women protest in solidarity, hand in hand, and are repeatedly struck down by brutal force, yet never back down.  The choreography and infusion of movement as storytelling is so strong and a stunning reminder of why I fell in love with Kate Prince’s work.  It is evocative.  It talks directly to you in a distinct way and you understand every moment.  It also feels important that these real life people aren’t painted as saints, showing they often made questionable choices to further their beliefs, but neither does it shy away from showing why they found themselves having to make such choices when faced with impossible circumstances.  There are moments when the men of the time deliver their report on why men are scientifically proven to be better than women, and this very real report of its day was alarmingly frustrating in its content, but also in the fact that many of its points are still thrown around like wildfire today.  I have personally had many of its points said to me even in my lifetime, as I’m sure every woman in the audience could also testify to, and so it goes to show that we may have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go when traces of gender based inequality are still rooted in todays society.  As this song led into ‘March Women March,’ and then ‘Be The Change’ before the interval, I found myself completely moved and quite honestly, close to tears.  This is a powerful show, that presents our history, educates, agitates, and exhilarates, and hopefully continues to bring change.   

Sylvia is loud, unapologetic and unashamed to bare its beliefs, its heart, its soul.  It brings the change it wants to see and does so with style.  It is a heady mix of history, local pride, entertainment, undeniable talent, and a call to action.  It brings history to life and refuses to let it slink away quietly, prompting real conversations about equality, class, socialism, loyalty, and fighting for what is right.  The Lowry brought the revolution back home with purpose and left the whole theatre chanting for more!  Sylvia would have approved!

WE SCORE SYLVIA...