A HEARTFELT TALE OF GRIEF, HOPE, AND HEALING

By Trisha Cusack ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

Martin Storrow’s new musical, King of Pangea, directed by Richard Israel, is a beautiful exploration of navigating grief that brings us on a fantasy adventure to learn how to find hope after loss.

Sam Crow, played by Alfie Blackwell in an impressive professional debut, has dealt with a lot in his young life so far. In a rather quickly paced opening montage, we watch his mother (Sophia Ragavelas) battle with cancer before going into remission, only to sadly pass away some years later when the disease returns while Sam was at university. Unable to cope with his grief, Sam retreats into himself, breaking up with his girlfriend and allowing a distance to form between him and his father.

To escape this reality, Sam returns to Pangea, an imaginary island he and his mum created together during his childhood. Thus the magical fantasy adventure begins. We are introduced to Elijah, played by Mark Curry, the wise and witty side kick character reminiscent of the Genie from Aladdin. His humorous solo, ‘Everyone I Love’, comes at the right time, bringing some comic relief following an emotionally intense opening.

As Sam journeys to Pangea, we learn more about what he went through while his mum was ill through the clever use of a dual timeline. We see Young Sam, played by Daniel Lee and Tayt Joshua Silvester-Stoller, miss birthdays and become fixated with cleaning as a coping mechanism. Over the course of Sam navigating his way through the journey to reach Pangea, and the various roadblocks, we see him slowly begin to navigate through his grief as well.

What carries the show through its different plot points, including Sam trying to become the titular King of Pangea in the hopes of seeing his mother again, is the musical score. The combination of ballads, comedic songs and a repeated reprisal of “Where are we going now” help bring to life this young man’s journey in finding hope again in the face of insurmountable grief. Dan Burton’s vocals as The Captain are a standout, showcasing his West End experience in the King’s Head Theatre.

Storrow attempts to explore multiple complex themes and questions, which 90 minutes without an interval feels a rather short period to do so with significant depth. For future iterations, it would be great to see Elijah’s backstory strengthened and the characters of Arthur Crow and Amy to have a bigger role in the show to make it feel more fleshed out.

However, what ultimately does make this a wonderful show to see is how it accurately portrays the rollercoaster of emotions of a young person grieving a parent. Its heartfelt messages evokes a strong response from the audience, evident by the multiple sniffles heard throughout the theatre on press night. The cast perform their roles beautifully, with vocals and acting matching the level of heightened emotion needed for the topic.

If you’re looking for a show that, while not perfect, has a strong musical score and will make you feel something, it is well worth watching.

King Of Pangea is running at King’s Head Theatre until Sunday 6 July.

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Photo Credit: Steve Gregson