London theater critics have given generally positive reviews to Almeida’s revival of the 2006 musical Spring Awakening, based on Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play. The creative team includes Steven Sater (book, lyrics), Duncan Sheik (music, orchestrations), Rupert Goold (direction), Lynne Page (choreography), Miriam Buether (production design), Nicky Gillibrand (costumes), Jack Knowles (lights), Tony Gayle (sound), Jo Cichonska (music direction), and Simon Hale (orchestrations). The cast includes Laurie Kynaston (Melchior), Amara Okereke (Wendle), and Stuart Thompson (Moritz), with Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea (Hanschen), Asha Banks (Thea), Taylor Bradshaw (ensemble), Catherine Cusack (adult women), Carly-Sophia Davies (Ilse), Kit Esuruoso (Otto), Mark Lockyer (adult men), Bella Maclean (Martha), Emily Ooi (ensemble), Joe Pitts (Georg), Maia Tamrakar (Anna), and Zheng Xi Yong (Ernst). The show runs through January 22.
Culture Whisper (Holly O’Mahony): While there’s plenty to admire about the production … Goold misses a trick in not making this story, with its timeless and universal theme of teenage angst, feel more current. … The decision to leave the narrative in an archaic world of draconian teachers brandishing canes … renders Spring Awakening a period piece, when it has all the potential to speak of the teenage experience today. … The chance to watch its accomplished cast perform Sater’s songs with raw passion makes it a run worth rooting for. 3 out of 5 stars.
Guardian (Arifa Akbar): This revival is marked for the abundant talent in its young cast. … The problem, though, are the emo, rock and pop songs with music and lyrics that sound repetitive, banal and ultimately soporific. They come at quite a pace too, impeding the narrative flow so the first half feels episodic. … Characters controlled by repressive social and sexual codes look as if they have stepped out of a teen Netflix drama and dance in boy- and girl-band formations, with choreography that seems to have been adopted from a reality TV contest. … The performances are all striking and the leads seem on their way to becoming tomorrow’s stars. 3 out of 5 stars.
Time Out (Andrzej Lukowski): I was blown away by the Almeida’s revival of Spring Awakening which made it all the way to press night against pretty steep odds. … If the original was better than Rupert Goold’s newie then it must have been bloody incredible. … It is an exceptionally good ensemble. … And they’re a true ensemble, bound together by the remarkable songs and Lynne Page’s superb choreography. … This young cast is phenomenal. They’d be phenomenal in normal times, but there was something particularly emotional about their curtain call, just standing here and defying the odds, savouring the show that should be their big break. 5 out of 5 stars.
WhatsOnStage (Sarah Crompton): The production is a triumph, a piercing beam of light into the way that the adult world simultaneously ignores and suppresses young people. … The themes of the piece speak with loud contemporary clarity in this virtuosic staging directed by Rupert Goold with force and steely brilliance. … The cast themselves provide the flames of individuality that illuminate the space. … They sing terrifically too. … It is a triumphant achievement and I wish it a long run and full houses. 4 out of 5 stars.