‘The King & I’ At Cardiff’s New Theatre
Saturday 29th April, my parents, grandmother and I ventured to Cardiff’s New Theatre to see Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘The King & I’.
We booked the tickets back in December when seeing ‘Call The Midwife’ actress Helen George had joined the cast. Unfortunately, Helen had sustained an injury and her understudy Maria Coyne stepped out as Anna Leonowens.
The Theatre
At Cardiff’s New Theatre, the staff were so lovely. The establishment offer this great service in which you can pre-order drinks and snacks to your seat. They don’t discourage you from bringing your own. Just, of course, be mindful not to chew loudly through the performance.
It is such a beautiful building, with adaptations for accessibility. The only downside I would say, is the number of bathrooms. It was something I was expecting in such an old building. But to get more stalls in, you find they are quite thin.
We were able to book some great seats towards the back and at the outer end of the aisle. The view was fantastic and I like that their online seating plan is true to the seat you choose.
About The King & I
To give a little synopsis; ‘The King & I’ is about Anna Leonowens, a widow with a young son, who travels to Siam to be an English Teacher to King Mongkut’s children. From two different cultures, the King and Anna butt heads over many different issues. But the King’s head wife, Lady Thiang, can see how good Anna is for the children. And for her husband’s westernised vision of Siam. With rumours of Siam having a ‘barbaric’ King, who was gifted a new wife. A new wife who has a secret lover. Visiting British dignitaries. A promised house. Dancing, singing, laughter and tearful moments. ‘The King & I’ is a classic musical performance.
Most who have seen ‘The King & I’ will have seen the 1956 film staring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. It is so different, in the best way, seeing it on stage. It was brilliant to see the production as Rodgers and Hammerstein intended.
The Performance
Although we booked the tickets because Helen George had joined the cast, I will now always want to book tickets because Maria Coyne is in the cast. From the moment you saw her on stage to every time she stepped into a scene, she was Anna. Anna has this undeniable sass to her personality, and you saw that with Maria.
Darren Lee showed every dimension of the the King. In the story, you’ll find King Mongkut is a complex character who at the upmost, demands respect. To see the character’s humour and the love for his family through Darren was sensational.
Watching the relationship between Anna and the King through Maria Coyne and Darren Lee was like watching Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.
The whole cast were captivating. I was enthralled from start to finish.
There was also a change in cast for Tuptim. Unsure as to why Marienella Phillips was absent, but we saw Amelia Kinu Muus step into the role. Amelia has such a beautiful voice, I had goosebumps every time she sang.
The staging was inventive, the choreography so entertaining and the costumes were stunning.
After that performance, I realised it really had been too long since going to the theatre. I’m now looking at other productions. If you have any recommendations, leave a comment below!
I had the most amazing day out to Cardiff’s New Theatre and I would highly recommend seeing ‘The King & I’ on its UK tour.
As always, thanks for reading…
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