We’ll admit that we knew very little about Brigadoon – the final show of this summer’s season at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre – before going to check it out, other than it was written by musical theatre duo Lerner & Loewe (most famous for My Fair Lady). If you’ve not heard of it either, there’s a good reason for that – this is the first London revival for over 35 years.
Perhaps the show has been ignored for so long because it’s absolutely ridiculous: we often have to suspend our disbelief in the theatre, but this musical is complete absurdist fantasy. In Rona Munro’s adaptation, this is set in 1945, at the end of the Second World War: we encounter two American pilots who have crash landed their plane in Scotland and are looking for a military base. While exploring they discover the magical town of Brigadoon, which is not on any map.
Turns out this is a town which disappeared 200 years ago as a result of a spell to preserve it from the looming violence of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. As part of the bargain, it can reappear once every 100 years for 24 hours. If a resident leaves, the spell will break and the town will disappear forever; strangers can come and go, but if one falls in love with a resident then they’re allowed to stay. Oh, and also the town has magical healing qualities – the soldiers’ various ailments from the crash landing magically disappear when they enter the town. Absolutely none of this is explained at any point.
It won’t win any awards for its plot, but thankfully Brigadoon has pretty much everything else going for it. There are some wonderful, memorable tunes here – most notably the charming ‘Almost Like Being in Love’ and the amusing ‘The Love of My Life’; with Drew McOnie at the helm, we’re treated to lots of beautiful, balletic choreography throughout; Sami Fendall’s gorgeous deconstructed takes on traditional Scottish attire really look the part; and Basia Bińkowska’s set design is truly impressive, creating a multi-levelled space which is utilised effectively throughout.
We enjoyed our evening with Brigadoon, even if the rain resulted in a show stop on press night – this was handled with good humour by the stage manager, and to be honest helped make the event feel even more authentically Scottish. Don’t come for the story – instead enjoy the songs, performances, choreography, costumes and set design. It all looks and sounds wonderful, resulting in a rather charming little show – we’re glad it’s been revived after all these years.
GAY TIMES gives Brigadoon – 4/5
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