A Mirrored Monet struggles to turn strong visuals into a compelling musical

A Mirrored Monet | Charing Cross Theatre, until 9 May

With double your Monets, this musical about the artist’s struggle ultimately fails to leave much of an impression.

This new musical concerns the Impressionist painter Claude Monet as he struggles to complete his famous Water Lilies.

It must be said at the outset that the bar has been set extremely high for any musical about an artist’s struggle by Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, which deals with the pointillist painter George Seurat and the creation of his masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

Unfortunately, the song “Out There in the Light”, with its repetitive phrase, is nowhere near the eloquence of Sondheim’s “Finishing the Hat”. I was also idly thinking I would hear a version of “We’re in the Money” from 42nd Street, but sung as “We’re in the Monet!”

It is perhaps unfair to make such comparisons, but even on its own terms, I’m afraid the musical is lacking in several key areas.

The central premise is that we are confronted with an older Monet, played by Jeff Shankley, who is struggling with what could loosely be described as painter’s block and the loss of his wife. Initially, much like Salieri in Amadeus, he addresses the audience directly, but that conceit is not sustained.

We soon see Young Monet, played by Dean John Wilson. We then see several flashbacks of him meeting his muse and wife, Camille, and follow their journey from Paris to London and back again.

We also see how two representatives of the old guard attempt to block the progress of these young, up-and-coming artists who are threatening the status quo. Ultimately, though, it does not provide any substantial insight.

One of the key elements in any musical is the book, here provided by Carmel Owen. As I’ve said before, with Chess as the primary example, you can have the greatest songs in the world, even top ten hits, but very few musicals can survive a weak book.

Here, the structure is uneven, and we are asked to invest in characters that have not been fully explored or developed. This is most evident in the character of The Marquis, played by Steven Serlin. He has a major number in Act Two, “I Was Important Then”, about his loss of status and influence. Unfortunately, we do not know why we should invest in him or feel any sympathy, as until this point he has been little more than a sketch.

The music and lyrics are also by Owen. Musically, the show is pleasant, very much in the vein of 1990s musicals. The lyrics, however, are less successful. A line such as “What’s the matter, darling? / You look like a starling” illustrates the problem. The best that can be said is that it rhymes. There are numerous similar moments throughout.

It is disappointing to say this because a strong cast has been assembled. They are excellent singers and give their all to the material, supported by an eight-piece orchestra that sounds superb.

Visually, the production is striking. The use of projection is handled well, with Matt Powell creating a range of canvases that evoke both the old and the new artistic worlds.

I am always keen to see a new musical, particularly one with original songs, but here the talent on stage feels underserved by the material.

A visually impressive and musically assured production that ultimately struggles with its writing and leaves a sense of missed potential.

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