Reviewed by James Karas
The fishermen of the title are a group of men from Cornwall who were in fact mostly fishermen and enjoyed singing in the the pub in the village of Port Isaac in southwest England. They were noticed by an ambitious music agent from London who undertook the highly unlikely task of promoting the men and some women into a successful singing group. Their story is the stuff of The Fisherman’s Friends, an entertaining musical now playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto.
After some inevitable hiccups (they make up the plot of the musical), the singing fishermen made a recording in 2010 that hit the charts and a movie of their success was made in 2019. It has been followed by an adaptation for the stage that opened in Cornwall in October 2021. The North American tour of the musical with the original United Kingdom cast has had its premiere in Toronto.
It is a a boisterous, energetic and at times powerful musical made up mostly of the singing of traditional sailors’ songs, many of ancient lineage, known as shanties. The plot follows the frantic efforts of the music agent Danny (Jason Langley) to get a recording contract for the group, the saving of the pub where they sing from being sold to an investor and a love interest between Danny and Alwyn (Parisa Shahmir).
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I have had no exposure to sea shanties and I enjoyed most of them but there are about thirty of them in the musical leaving very little room for the subplots. The shanties have simple, in-your-face melodies and often repetitive lyrics that would be perfect for singing in a pub especially after downing several pints of ale.
The musical opens with “Nelson’s Blood” a muscular shanty about having a drop of the great admiral’s blood not doing them any harm. “Pay Me My Money Down” or “I go to jail” is similar with numerous repetitions but you take it for what it is – an old folk song sung by simple fishermen in a pub in a seaside village.
The flaky Danny (who sings well) has a crush on the daughter of Jim (James Gaddas) the gruff, no-nonsense member of the group who does not approve of the relationship. Danny develops as a character and as a music agent and Alwyn stands her ground against her father’s objections and the relationship becomes real love!
The pub is owned by Rowan (Dan Buckley) and Ann (Mel Biggs and Hazel Askew) and it is not doing well. And when the members of the group hear that the owners have sold the pub to an investor, they become understandably furious but even that has a happy ending. The pub is purchased and saved by Danny.
After some understandable and inevitable problems, the singers get a highly lucrative recording contract and are invited to sing at the legendary Glastonbury festival.
The fishermen sang a cappella in the pub but musicians are added for the musical and they (the musicians) are on stage. That may take away from the authenticity of the usual performance in the pub but without instrumentalists our patience may been tested to its breaking point.
The opening scene shows fishing boats bouncing on the waves of the sea on a windy and foggy night. Very effective. Lucy Osborne’s set for the pub is a multi-story structure that is quite superb. Most of the action takes place in the pub.
The book for the stage musical is by Amanda Wittington based on the movie screenplay by Nick Moorcroft, Meg Leonard and Piers Ashworth. The plot has humour and drama but it is of limited duration and therefore development.
Director James Grieve handles the whole thing with aplomb along with choreographer Matt Cole.
My introduction to shanties may have been too much of a good thing and
the plot not enough. That’s probably just me. The audience reacted
enthusiastically throughout the performance and gave the show a standing
ovation.
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Fisherman’s Friends: The
Musical with music as performed by the group Fisherman’s Friends continues until January 15, 2023, at the Royal
Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. W. Toronto, Ont. www.mirvish.com
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