Sunday In the Park with George

Oliver Awards Clippings

The Independent, Monday 19th February 2007, pgs 10 – 11
‘… Sondheim and Lapine slipped into the Chocolate Factory to see the show for themselves. With a sell-out hit in place, they gave their blessing. One distinguishing feature of the production was the way it utilised computer technology.

It was a technical tour de force of which the composer heartily approved. “I don’t think that way, because it’s not my generation. That kind of thing startles me, but it was magical.”

The Times, Monday 19th February 2007, pg 13
‘… It was the smallest, most inventive productions that impressed the theatregoing public and professionals who vote for the Oliviers. Spamalot had had seven nominations but it was the director Sam Buntrock’s ravishing rediscovery of Sondheim’s fantasy musical inspired by the 19th Century painter Georges Seurat that received as many as five major prizes.’

The Daily Telegraph, Monday 19th February 2007, pg 5
‘… Sunday in the Park with George is a relatively unloved show compared with Sondheim’s other hits West Side Story, Sweeney Todd and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

It was considered ‘inaccessible’ and ‘obscure’ and extremely difficult to perform. But the new London production, which is expected to transfer to Broadway, has been praised by both critics and theatre-goers.

Charles Spence, theatre critic of the Daily Telegraph described it as a “masterpiece” in his review.

He wrote, “It is one of the most daring, thrilling and moving musicals you are ever likely to encounter.”’

London Theatre Guide – web
‘The Menier Chocolate Factory production of Stephen Sondheim's Sunday In The Park With George has been named the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award Outstanding Musical Production… The award was collected by Menier Chocolate Factory Artistic Director David Babini, Director Sam Buntrock and leading duo Jenna Russell and Daniel Evans. They were all delighted by the win. Talking about why the show was such a success Evans said: “Well we have to start with the material, which is an amazing score and an amazing book, and then we add to it the idea of this man, Sam Buntrock, which was to use animation and digital technology to tell the story in an original and meaningful way.” The production caught the imagination of London audiences not only with its plot, music and performance, but also with its innovative design that used projections to create Seurat's masterpiece Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte on stage. Speaking about the use of digital technology, Buntrock commented: “It means that you can actually go inside the painting, inside his work from the first sketch line to the last dab of paint. I’d like to think that in five or 10 years' time there will be more productions using projections like this. At the moment they are still sometimes seen as something of an unwelcome guest.”

Earlier in the evening designers David Farley and Timothy Bird were recognised for the show's technology-driven design by picking up the Best Set Design award.’