Book, Music, and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Direction by Thomas Kail

Musical Supervision and Orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire

Tickets from £25.00

No one has control over their narrative once their time runs out. The only constant between sinners, saints, rich men, and poor is the inevitability of it all. And while death is out of our control, legacy, and the impact of one’s own, often means more than our time in the land of the living – particularly for America.

But if you were to entrust someone with this power, to tell your story – you could not do better than Lin-Manuel Miranda.

For those who have understood, even resented, the proclaimed brilliance of Hamilton – this is their opportunity to be in the room where it happens and grasp the musical which broke down boundaries. And as the musical juggernaut propels Edinburgh back to the American founding father, the hundreds of names left out in their rise to glory and power. Particularly the name of one individual overcast throughout history – Alexander Hamilton. A man who, before Miranda, many of us had heard of, vaguely, but knew next to nothing about.

Miranda’s is an album of the people, where any individual number could be chosen for its merit. A lyrical structure follows a doctrine closer to spoken word: witty, humorous, potent, and often trajected with incredible pace – we are looking at 144 words per minute, only increased with Billy Nevers’ rap as Marquis de Lafayette. With an infusion of Jazz, R&B, Hip-Hop, and the occasional ballad moment, Hamilton changes the game to its own rules – both for the benefit and the alienation of audiences starkly unfamiliar with the pace or structure. At the other end of the spectrum, slowing down the narrative, dragging it back into the past and Royal tongue, Daniel Boys’ King George offers a slice of humour and giddy enthusiasm as the ‘Mad King’ who loses their grip on the colonies.

A spirituous and heavy-footed show, the thundering stomps of The Battle of Yorktown maintain the score’s energy and ferocity, while the still impressive reversal of Satisfied showcases Blankenbuehler’s choreography (with Aisling Duffy as the resident choreographer) with an intricate elegance and use of the revolving stage. If it is possible to resign yourself from the erupting sentiment, the intricacies of and placement of arranging the cast as they catapult forward and back, passing, and intercepting letters and bullets demonstrate how accomplished the cast is under Kail’s direction.

Catapulting Black, Hispanic and Asian performers into the roles of the founding fathers and other significant white historical figures, Hamilton’s long-awaited UK tour finds itself with a resilient cast who grasp the continued importance of the production’s creation and the audience’s expectations. Even after a stint in Manchester, and a week’s run in Edinburgh, the press night for Hamilton’s Scottish debut pulses with an energy rarely felt within the opening. One delivered in a manner that matches expectations. Shaq Taylor’s leading role as Hamilton is initially flooding with blood and charisma, softening as the character ages but only growing in enthusiastic and emotive control – leading to a powerful finale. Surrounded by the ‘crew’ of friends and adversaries, Taylor benefits from co-stars DeAngelo Jones, KM Drew Boateng, and Nevers in their dual performances – with Boateng and Nevers gripping and enjoyable as their more outlandish roles Hercules Mulligan and the swaggering dapper Thomas Jefferson.

Hamilton’s other key player, Sam Oladeinde’s Aaron Burr (Sir), is conducted with one of the more downtrodden, bordering into sympathetic, portrayals of Hamilton’s friend and life-long enemy. Reserved, poised and contemplative, the venomous energy which Oladeine spits throughout The Room Where It Happens breaks down into a silent torment of emotions Who Live, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story or Wait for It finds their vendetta bathe in the sharp colour flickers of Warren Letton’s UK Associate Lighting Design (from Howell Binkley’s original). Often finding themselves cast in crimson is Charles Simmons’ George Washington, a benevolent and soulful performance, carried as a de-facto father figure for the characters who found themselves without one. And where the men busy themselves with letter writing, wars, and debates, it is the women of this production who stir the most significant impact.

None more so than Maya Britto’s Eliza Schuyler, one of three sisters. Alexander Hamilton’s wife, and the woman whose determination kept his name in the history books for so long, Britto’s naïve and gentility are all but eclipsed by their determination where required – a remarkably powerful presence, able to deliver the fan favourite number Burn with the required delicacy and articulation. Aisha Jawando’s older sister Angelica is often the reverse, staunch and forthcoming, stripped away of emotion, making the initial sacrifices which gradually break away at the character before returning to resilience in a new form – armed with a unique, and often impressionable voice.

The pacing and annunciation of Hamilton will unquestionably halt other audience members’ enjoyment. It is a speed and delivery replicated in few other musicals, but the dedication to understanding the balance of drama and history pays off in a way so rarely experienced. Embrace history, do not disregard, or alter its truth – confront the atrocity and reflect on it; represent it. Those children of bastards and the immigrants who founded and freed nations are still breathing, still fighting, and still suffering. The revolution’s happening in Edinburgh. Take your shot. You do not want to miss the event of the year, and par excellence which is Hamilton.

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