Lulled into thinking I was off to see a musical about shoes I headed to see new musical Stiletto at Charing Cross Theatre. The word stiletto actually originates from Italian and refers to a small dagger with a slender blade…much for fitting for the show.

Stiletto is set in 18th Century Venice where boys are being castrated in order to preserve the upper register of their voice. We meet Marco, a young castrato who has been trained for greatness but when his voice opens doors he has been dreaming of he finds that he is not the only one with a voice and a dream. Gioia, a young slave woman has a natural talent but when her first appearance at Marco’s benefactor, Azurra’s house, ends in tragedy Marco and those around him have to decide what is important to them.

This new musical clearly has big ideas and everything about the show is grand. An impressive and equally well utilised set design by Ceci Calf looms as you enter the auditorium and a 12 piece orchestra sits above the set, unusual but very welcome in such an intimate venue. The costumes design by Anna Kelsey is equally as lavish, transporting me to the wealthiest houses in Venice with ease however the grandest thing about the show is the multitude of themes within the show.

Within the book by Tim Luscombe they try to tackle a huge amount of big ideas which include the treatment of the castrato’s at the time, social inequality, the Church, racism, suicide, homosexuality, love and more but instead of any of these ideas really finding their feet and giving the show some depth and meaning, they all wrestle against each other and barely scratch the surface. As the themes aren’t given time to play out fully on stage many of the characters speak in hyperbole in order to ensure the audience knows just how important this particular moment is and this feels stilted and doesn’t do justice to some underlying interesting ideas. The show is wrapped up in a neat bow within the closing moments but yet none of these themes feel satisfied and shows that these big themes have been over simplified for this show.

The characters all jostle for attention with numerous storylines playing out, with Marco played by Jack Chambers at the centre of it. He has a fine voice and a cheeky way about him which makes him easy to watch on stage. It was frustrating that they chose to use a double for when Marco sings with his castrato voice, whilst this is no reflection of the performance given by Jennie Jacobs, undermining elements of the show.

Kelly Hampson and Douglass Hansell duel it out on stage as Azurra and Pietro D’Orozco and it was hard to establish if these characters are supposed to be comedy characters or characters of repulsion due to the book but nevertheless Hampson cut a commanding figure on stage and didn’t take herself too seriously in her big number ‘Amore Mio’ where she describes her desires to Marco and ‘Without Me,’ the villain duet elicited laughs for all the right reasons. Plaudits should also be given to Jewelle Hutchinson who played Gioia whose voice truly made me believe that she should be given the chance to perform although it would have been wonderful for her character to have more autonomy than simply to fall in love with Marco.

The music by Matthew Wilder is enjoyable for the most part although whilst variety can be a good thing it began to jar when we weren’t sure if we would hear an aria next or something more modern. The orchestra however was a highlight of the evening, especially when playing the bigger numbers. Sound design by Andrew Johnson ensured that they were heard perfectly and balanced with the cast.

Whilst Stiletto needs work it was refreshing to see a show that I hadn’t seen the film of or read the book, or even one that hadn’t transferred from Broadway. There is a glimmer of light within this show and I hope it is given a chance to work its way through the issues with the book and developed further so we can continue to support new musical theatre writing.

Stiletto is currently playing at Charing Cross Theatre until 14th June. You can find out more and book tickets here.

If you like this review you might also like my review for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Six and The Devil Wears Prada.