Broken Legs Blog

After starting life as a soundtrack, before playing as a concert in summer of 2022, “Treason” finally becomes a fully-fledged musical – but was it worth the wait?

Telling the story of the gunpowder plot, the story of “Treason” spends most of its time revolving around one of the plotter’s Thomas Percy (Sam Ferriday) and his wife Martha (Nicole Raquel Dennis), beginning with their wedding, which has to be done in secret since they are both Catholics, and so illegal according to the rules set out by Queen Elizabeth, who was Protestant.

With the Queen’s death however, a new opportunity arises as King James (Joe McFadden) takes the throne. It quickly becomes clear that things won’t change however, as the King is heavily influenced by his right-hand-man Robert Cecil (Oscar Conlon-Morrey) in one of my favourite songs from the evening. And, when Martha loses her child after being attacked for her religion, Percy joins forces with Robert Catesby (Connor Jones) to plot the downfall of Parliament.

“Treason” has been heavily publicised as the British “Hamilton”, and it is clear to see that the production has been influenced by it – the chorus (or “The Eyes” as the programme refers to them) are dressed very similarly to Hamilton’s supporting actors, and have a similar purpose. Sadly, the musical (with music and lyrics by Ricky Allan) lacks the tenacity and punch of Hamilton, promising fireworks but delivering little more than a lacklustre Catherine wheel. The lyrics often fall flat, the songs serve to pad out the story rather than advance it, and there’s no upbeat rhythm to get the blood pumping.

Thankfully, the singers are good, particularly Dennis as Martha and Emilie Louise Israel as Anne Vaux, who both delivered some show-stopping performances in the second act. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Gabriel Akamo (Guy Fawkes), who seemed to stumble over his words and struggle to catch his breath during some of the faster raps. Fawkes acts as the narrator for the majority of the play, only becoming part of the story towards the end, as he ends up becoming the scapegoat when the plot is uncovered.

The performance that we saw on Wednesday night was also plagued by technical issues – McFadden’s mic (or lack of) brought the show to a standstill in the first act, and the lights went off completely in the second act (although the actors tried to carry on as best they could!). By the time we got to the end, you could almost see the cast breathe a sigh of relief that they’d at least managed to get through it.

I have since listened to the soundtrack on Spotify, and it is clear to see why the musical has already gained a large following online. The songs feel tighter, and performances from Lucie Jones and Carrie Hope Fletcher on the album also help! Unfortunately, as a full-length musical, the show is too dragged out and boring. Maybe, just maybe, the story of the gunpowder plot is not that interesting to warrant a 150 minute musical after all.

Tom Morley, November 2023