The musical number ‘The Impossible Dream’ seems to me to be one of those songs used regularly to display the talent of various singers, coming from the musical “Man of La Mancha” and along with the title number  ‘Man of la Mancha’ and ‘Dulcinea’ are three of my favourite songs from shows. I was therefore shocked to discover that the musical has rarely been performed professionally in the UK. 

I did see an amateur version of ‘’TheMan of La Mancha” several years ago during The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and when I noticed the Lyceum were putting on this production with Nicholas Pound in the title role couldn’t wait to see it, and him!! I first met Nicholas in Chess, then Les Miserables and most recently in Cats, it was therefore fantastic to be able to see him in a different character. My expectations of him were more than realised by his amazing performance in this superb production.

Designed and directed in such a way that the prison setting provides a complex and fascinating background from which the illusion of both despair and hope rises. The set also provides every single prop required, facilitating the play within the play, from the basic utilities to the personal belongings of the inmates everything on stage is utilised in an imaginative variety of ways.

As far as the cast is concerned this selection of amazingly talented people best described as a collection of musician-performers who cooperate in one of the finest ensemble pieces I have seen. They all seem to be one giant organism working together to provide the audience with a superb theatrical performance that takes us on a roller coaster of emotions from laughter to tears, displaying how much reality relies on the imagination, without which we would not be the species we are.

George Drennan, Steve Elias, Stewart Hanratty, Graham Kent, Pauline Knowles, Robert Pettigrew, Nicholas Pound, Jennifer Rhodes, Andrew Scott-Ramsay, James Spilling, Michael Travis, Susannah van den Berg, Alastair Ewer and David Wallace all sing dance and perform their way seemingly effortlessly through the show.

The most amazing thing in this day and age is the fact that no microphones are used and they all rely on their own physical projection, yet not one single word that is spoken or sung is missed by any member of the audience.

Just in case you are in any doubt I absolutely loved this production and would recommend it to everyone, I am hoping to get back to see it again before the end of the run on Saturday 19^th of May 2007.

'Man of La Mancha' The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh: 20^th April to 19^th May 2007.

for further information see www.lyceum.org.uk