Spine tingling, emotionally charged, wow factor inducing and simply suburb….to be honest those are the thoughts simply after the opening number of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman’s Whistle Down The Wind. 

That first song, “Keys To The Vaults Of Heaven” would show any anti-Webberist just what a marvel this man is an jotting down a tune, there is so much emotion in that one number than I have heard in a million songs, and yes that even includes Will Young’s "Evergreen"! The highly sensitive start really sets the underlying tone of emotion, love and life for the harmonious production.

 Based on the much-loved sixties film starring Hayley Mills, Whistle Down The Wind is an extraordinary and uplifting tale about the transforming power of love. Set in America’s Deep South, a 15-year-old girl discovers a mysterious man hiding in a barn. When she asks him his identity the first words her utters are” Jesus Christ” and it seems as if all her prayers have been answered. The girl and the town’s other children vow to protect the stranger from the outside world whilst towns people are on the lookout for a fugitive. I won’t say any more about the story, as that’s all you need to know but hankies may be needed, the audience members round me were all getting sniffle, and no its not due to a flu epidemic.

 The strikingly atmospheric lighting contrasted so perfectly with the gorgeous sets that the Deep South seemed there in your view, even the mud at the back is made use of along with the barn, which appears and disappears so slickly you barely notice it.

 Voices in a show like this have to carry the production, and in Whistle Down The Wind, you get a lot of story through song so it was a refreshing change to hear perfectly co-ordinated sound levels so the orchestra were loud enough but you could clearly hear every word, along with noteworthy accents and faultless singing. Katie Rowley Jones as Swallow was perfect for the role, if not a tiny bit of a Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz look-alike, her co-star Tim Rogers was exceptional really portraying his extremely difficult character in a way that allows the audience to make up their own mind. Scott Cripps also was remarkable as in-fact were the huge numbers of children in the cast who delivered performances that a professional adult actor would be proud of. 

There is very little wrong with Whistle Down The Wind, its emotional and amazing, uplifting and enlightening, most defiantly entertaining and extremely astonishing. Problems do lie though in the occasional miming of the children which you can often notice, nothing extremely bad but just at times slightly off putting. The music also seemed to plod along being extremely repetitive during certain moments, particularly in the middle of the first act where it started off extremely emotional, and lagged for a bit before the awe-inspiring ending of Act 1. 

Act 2 however managed to keep the pace, emotion and atmosphere throughout leaving you feel as if you have watched a pure epic. Although the score can seem recurring at times it is completely made up for by, “Whistle Down The Wind”, “Tire Tracks”, “Long Overdue”, “The Gang” , “Nature Of The Beast” and of course the now infamous Boyzone sing song of “No Matter What.” These songs really showcase Lloyd Webber and put him once again at top of the composer league, with assistance from Jim Steinman of course. Finally a quick note for Bill Kenwright the director and producer, who has managed to show true versatility in a well thought out production. 

No matter what they tell you, go and see Whistle Down The Wind!

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Overall

4 1/2  out of 5

Performance Time:
Evenings: 7.30pm
Wed & Sat: 2.30pm

Ticket Prices:

£6.50 - £29.50

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