Last night I headed to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre to see Fiddler on the Roof. It was a real trip down memory lane — it’s the second musical I ever did with Leixlip Musical & Variety Group, a mere thirty-five years ago!
Oh look, it's me in the front again!
I haven’t seen it since, so I was really looking forward to watching it again — this time from the comfort of a plush seat instead of a sweaty stage under the lights.I wasn’t disappointed.
As one of those “old school” musicals, I wondered how well it would hold up with a modern audience. God, was it an eye-opener. As the story unfolded, the theme hit us full force — a community of humble, hard-working people being forced from their homes and land because of their religion. It was uncomfortable viewing in light of what’s happening in the world today.
One thing that threw me at first was the cast keeping their British accents instead of the usual Jewish/Russian ones. But the more I thought about it, the more it worked. It stripped away the sense of “otherness” and made the story universal. Persecution isn’t confined to one people or place — every group has the capacity to be both victim and perpetrator. Sadly, we still haven’t learned much from history.
The production itself was outstanding — powerful performances, clever staging, and an ending that left the audience utterly silent. When people file out without a word, you know a nerve has been touched.
It may have been 35 years since I heard “If I Were a Rich Man,” but last night reminded me why Fiddler is still one of the richest musicals ever written — not for its humour or its heart, but for the hard truths it still dares to tell.
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