Exciting things continue to happen at the Globe all the time. With this piece of new writing, playwright Samuel Adamson celebrates the music of Henry Purcell and give us a dramatic insight into England in the 1690s. In Gabriel, dramatic vignettes are interwoven with the music of Purcell: a piece about trumpet music has never been so entertaining.
The exceptional trumpet talent Alison Balsom was looking for a chance to perform at the Globe and to show off the more dulcet tones of the natural trumpet. The result is far less self-indulgent than one might expect, and highlights yet again the chutzpa of a theatre that dares to put fresh theatrical concepts in front of its audience.
The structure of Gabriel is deceptively simple: fictionalised slices of life from the 1690s, sometimes with historical people, come to life and are interspersed with music. The reign of Queen Mary is a contradictory period in the country’s history, full of pomp and artistic reinvention, but at the same time war-shaken and disease ridden. These contradictions are sewn into every fibre of the play: the characters, the overall structure of the play and, most prominently, the music.
Rather brilliantly (with only little shoehorning), all the stories relate in some form or another to Purcell’s trumpet music. Bawdy humour (lots of it!) and more serious tones alternate and link the regal stories of Queen Mary and her hydrocephalus nephew William with the fate of commoners such as John Shaw. He is one of the historical characters, and was the first one to play the instrument that back then was traditionally associated with military procedures in a more melodious and aesthetically pleasing way.
In the play, he is part of a company of players working for theatre owner Rich (Jason Baughan), who simply cuts his actor’s wages in half. Protests, hurt vanities and love triangles come to full bloom, and we find that performers in the 1690 had to struggle with the same hurdles back then as they do now. There are some other surprisingly modern motives touched upon throughout the production. Sam Cox’ entertainingly foul-mouthed waterman Taylor is a loving dig at the stereotypes of London cabbies but his story too, and like most of the others, it is subtly turned on its head.
So perfectly balanced is the play that its structure reflects on the unique sound of the natural trumpet and the change the perception of the instrument went through with the help of Purcell’s writing.
Jessie Buckley is a true revelation in her scenes as Arabella Hunt, the soprano singing at the Royal Court for Queen Mary (Charlotte Mills). Among men known only as cold and frigid, we learn about her past tragic marriage to another woman. As we follow her she finds fulfilment not in love, but in the quiet solace of music. Sarah Sweeney is Buckley’s counter part in this and after Don Juan at the Finborugh she continues to be an exciting presence in some of the more interesting and relevant productions in the past year.
Purcell is referred to, but only ever appears on stage through his music. With the help of this etherial presence, playwright Samuel Adamson has created a piece that is at once light and funny and at other times stark and touching. His writing style is inspired by the Purcellian semi-opera, but is dramatically unequally richer.
In essence, Gabriel is an inventive twist on the usually ghastly jukebox musical approach but here, with characters you actually care about. Together with The English Concert orchestra, Alison Balsom and music director Bill Barclay provide the captivating soundtrack for this rather unique piece. One can only hope that the Globe will keep up such courageous programming.