It’s always a treat to experience a new riff on a classic theatrical tale. In Blind Faith bills itself as a “Faustian” tale and has a few Faust stories in its DNA, but it manages to be its own, vigorous take on a story about manipulative personalities and the bargains we make with them.

This devilish myth doesn’t cop out on consequences, and that’s a fine thing. It is also explicitly a young person’s take on corruption, mortality, wants and not knowing what we want. That is also a fine thing; a younger person’s perspective can be a nuanced and intelligent one, and this is a well written and intelligent story. The audience clearly loves it, as well.

We’re introduced to Edith, our protagonist, via a classic and sweet ‘I Want’ song and a cutesy crowd scene – but by scene three, things are already twisting away from your typical high school musical fare and going down far more fun paths.

Each one of the devils – played to the hilt by Karmeehan Senthilnathan, Shervonne Grierson and Lilli Street – has a whale of a time diverting us away from anything as twee as a love story, though that is in there, and genuinely moving and sweet.

Kassandra Wang as Edith has a character arc that forces her into the role of foil for her demonic, unpleasant influencers for much of the show, but she gets the opportunity to unfold more as this marathon of a stage role tracks on.

Tara Terry’s Penny (a lesbian character here, but that may have been cross-cast, because it is very beige in its characterisation) stands in for an idyllic Dona Elvira / Marguerite-like figure, trying to redeem Edith from the brink despite the two lovers really knowing nothing about each other. At least the gulf of knowledge between them is explicitly called out in the script and lyrics!

I would struggle to call this a tale of gay romance or a tale about New Zealand. It is set in a sort of Commonwealth limbo, with no references to Aotearoa or even a name-drop of, say, Dunedin as the ‘colonial capital’. But perhaps that is the point. We have very Eurocentric devils feasting on a very Eurocentric set of characters, in a cycle devoid of place or meaning. It’s telling that the only vaguely ‘grounded’ character, that of Penny, is also the only character who acknowledges they live in a place that has dirt and birds and nature all around.

The music and musical direction is a kind of star character in itself, and it is arranged just delightfully. Composer-devisor Cadence Chung surveys the players from her place in the onstage band, keeping musical cues tightly wound to the performers and letting them breathe in a way that really lets them shine. The arrangements are both kind on younger voices and varied enough to give even small singing parts a chance to have a bit of fun. Really clever stuff.

The other directors, Hazel Perigo-Blackburn and Lewis Thomson, make up a trifecta of organising minds behind this youth-led show. This feels like it was a wise choice. Overall, the blocking, narrative flow of scenes and especially the liveliness in crowd and group scenes is done to a high standard. Crowd scenes and banter from bit players can be tough to balance against the larger dramas of protagonists, but this is well handled.

Some of the funniest lines and best reactions of the night come from our smaller parts, but it seldom feels hammy or like they are pulling focus. All in all it is a tight cast, and we can feel the rapport between the players and the stage band throughout.

If I had any feedback for our singers it would be to never underestimate ‘Sprechstimme’* and what it does to volume. Most of the lines are audible which is great because the lyrics in the songs are thoughtfully chosen and overall have a good rhythm to them. Even experienced singers can struggle to maintain consistent volume when singing with strong emotion or moving from speech to song – and this hampers a couple of the final songs. Each singer has their own pleasant shining moment, which is lovely to hear.

All my best to these young creatives! This show and its crew have a lot of energy and promise. I would enjoy seeing them build on their ideas and find new stories to share with us.
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*Sprechstimme, (German: “speech-voice”), in music, a cross between speaking and singing in which the tone quality of speech is heightened and lowered in pitch along melodic contours indicated in the musical notation. Sprechstimme is frequently used in 20th-century music. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
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