Simon Ward reviews Summoning Sondheim at The Glitch Theatre

This is a new venue for me. It is a tiny cafe-bar and I am sure that we were not the only patrons to have to ask the friendly staff whether this was the right place. The performance space is a correspondingly small basement space, transformed, for this show, into a candlelit séance room, complete with Sondheim-inspired altar-cum-shrine at its heart. (Thanks to fire regulations the candles are those flickering ‘candle-effect’ tea lights, which is a relief given the challenges that would be posed by having to escape in a hurry via the cramped staircase.) An intimate venue, then, and the audience are immediately made aware that we are very much part of the action. There is no fourth wall here.

Our beguiling hosts are Grace O’Keefe and Jordana Belaiche, who have also written the piece, co-created and directed by Bel Parker (also in the audience this evening). The séance has been organised, because, since Sondheim’s demise in 2021, it is no longer possible to correspond with him, as Grace had previously done on several occasions. And his presence is required to give a boost to the efforts of our co-hosts to break into the male-dominated world of musical theatre. The potted bios they share with us make plain the many challenges of making it in this cut-throat world.

What follows is a mixture of hilarious romp and heartbreaking melancholy. Of course, there isn’t a ‘real’ medium. And, of course, the charlatan who does turn up (a rather well disguised Belaiche) accidentally summons up the spirit of (very much alive) Andrew Lloyd Webber – surely the bête noire to all Sondheim fans. There also some rather spooky and surprising special effects for such an intimate show – I still don’t know how that bell managed to ring itself, or how that letter appeared out of nowhere.

There are spot-the-reference moments throughout, both in the script and in Grace O’Keefe’s music, which is enjoyable in its own right, as well as paying homage to the maestro. This is unashamedly a show for the fans – I doubt if anyone who came not knowing anything about Sondheim would leave feeling enlightened, but that is not the point. It made me want to re-listen straight away. This is also a plea for women’s theatre, and specifically women’s muscial theatre. To this end, each show introduces a new musical theatre creative. On the night I went, Barlow and Smith were the special guests – again, new to me, and I will be checking them out.

Ultimately, of course, summoning the dead is always a futile exercise. The point is not to try and bring back the people who are gone but to celebrate the fact that they once lived. And, especially in the case of great artists like Sondheim, we can continue to celebrate and investigate their work. Notwithstanding the uplifting message, however, one can’t help but feel the wrench of loss again. I wonder if I was the only one who went home and tearfully re-watched the stars singing ‘Sunday’ on Broadway as a tribute on the day after his death.

Summoning Sondheim is running at The Glitch Theatre, 134 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7AE until Monday 7th April.