After an 18-month hiatus due to the pandemic, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera has returned to London's West End with a new cast, a larger chandelier, and tweaked staging. The production, which has run for 35 years, continues to draw devoted fans despite its reputation as kitsch and uncool.
The plot, based on Gaston Leroux's novel, follows a masked Phantom (Killian Donnelly) who haunts a Parisian opera house, demanding a monthly stipend and a spare seat. He teaches chorus girl Christine (Lucy St Louis) to sing, but when she falls for Raoul (Rhys Whitfield), the Phantom drags her to his underground lair. The show features a quasi-love triangle and culminates in a forced performance of the Phantom's opera.
From the iconic organ riff to the chandelier's ascent, the production revels in bombast and camp. The second act opener 'Masquerade' is particularly dazzling, while the gondola journey lit by candles remains an unforgettable set piece. St Louis delivers a standout performance as Christine, flitting through musical styles with ease, while Donnelly brings nuance to the Phantom despite the character's cartoonish trappings.
Critics note that the love triangle is unconvincing and the Phantom's behaviour is incel-like, but the show offers high-camp escapism executed at the highest level. The orchestra has been reduced from 27 to 14 players, but the score still feels suitably epic.
