Tell the truth, or tell them what they want to hear? Pious, but growingly profitless; prophetic, or propaganda? In Ancient Greece, everyone had heard of the Oracle of Delphi and her ability to become a mouthpiece for the God Apollo to deliver mysterious prophecies. She was consulted by kings, military generals, powerful politicians, and anyone in the panhellenic world who had an important enquiry and the means to make the pilgrimage. Theatre Movement Bazaar’s Delphi: The Musical is a historical musical comedy that explores the crisis faced by the temple workers as patronage and interest dwindles. No longer considered to be the centre of the world, they are faced with the challenge of having to adapt to the taste of those like Emperor Oblivious if they want Delphi to survive and prosper once more.
I found the overall plot enjoyable, with a perfect balance of light-hearted drama and stakes that the audience could become invested in. There were good performances all round, with Lamont Oakley’s performance as Narcissus being particularly amusing. The symbolic, stylised costumes are incredibly effective — the design choices for costuming, hair, and make-up encapsulate the characters through a mix of colourful, delightfully anachronistic, and visually interesting pieces. The performance maintains a momentum that keeps the audience engaged, with well-written musical numbers that have a couple of remarkably catchy songs amongst the mix.
There were a solid number of funny moments — with the well-written pun “I didn’t have the gall (Gaul) to fight the Goths” being delivered so wonderfully it left me laughing far too loud; the name “Emperor Oblivious” being so delightfully on the nose, and too many moments with the plumber characters to mention. However, for a comedy, while it is very fun, there is not enough of the funny. It seems somewhat overly reliant on reference. It’s not that the play is too referential —on the contrary, that’s part of the appeal — but the abundance of reference is not accompanied by an appropriate number of actual jokes. They seemed to have been substituted (rather than accompanied) by a number of references in the form of “you know that one famous historical guy” that are varying levels of amusing but not consistently developed enough to be fully humorous.
Additionally, the experience was impacted by some technical difficulties: a curtain fell mid-performance, and there were issues with the lighting (the only spot light that seemed to be working shone on the shoes of those of us sitting in the front row rather than on the stage). However, this was opening night, and the professionalism with which the actors handled it was admirable and successfully minimised the disruption.
I would recommend the show to anyone looking for a promising historical musical with a stellar cast, and equally fabulous costuming. If you liked the Percy Jackson books or Disney’s Hercules, this one’s for you!
Delphi: The Musical is running until 30 August (excluding the 17th and 24th) at Bedlam Theatre. Buy tickets here.
Image by David Haverty, provided to The Student as press material.
