The Origin of Species...
In trying to appeal to too broad a church, this appraisal of Charles Darwin's life and times falls a little short of its potential
The celebration of Charles Drawin's bicentenary, Tangram Theatre Company’s The Origin of Species… pays homage to the father of modern biology in a light-hearted one-man musical comedy.
Playing Darwin at the pivotal stage of the theory of evolution’s development, John Hinton exuberantly takes his audience on a journey through the scientist’s life and discoveries. Armed with an acoustic guitar, Hinton’s Darwin recalls his life from childhood to groundbreaking overseas expeditions. He even provides succinct summaries of five chapters from his seminal work through a catalogue of ditties which are at times brilliant—think Monty Python’s 'The Galaxy Song'—yet can be, at other times, somewhat unimaginative.
Hinton brings an endearing, almost boyish zeal to his portrayal of Darwin, and his impersonations of Darwin’s family and friends sparkle with spot-on timing and warmth, showing a comical and human side to the scientist’s life. However, described as being “for young and old alike”, the production occasionally caters too much to this broad demographic with safe, disappointingly unoriginal and even cheap jokes, which set it back despite moments of excellence.
In the way a circus performer might ask for volunteers, Hinton eagerly breaks the fourth wall by including members of the audience in his performance. Charming perhaps, but the show ventures a bit too far into family-friendly territory. Finishing with Darwin transform ing into an ape, complete with screeching and chest-beating, it’s moments of base humour like this that mar an otherwise well-written and vivacious piece of comedic theatre.