Beverley Knight leads talented cast in powerful new musical Sylvia – review
Sylvia has taken a fair while to get to the stage – originally performed as a work-in-progress back in 2018, the full production has finally opened earlier this month at The Old Vic theatre.
Directed by Kate Prince, the show has already drawn numerous comparisons to hit musical Hamilton, and it’s not hard to see why – this historical piece, covering the early 20th century Suffragette movement, is set to a soundtrack heavily inspired by old-school hip hop and rap music.
The show focuses on the lives of the titular Sylvia Pankhurst (Sharon Rose) and her mother Emmeline (Beverley Knight). There’s a lot to take in during this musical: while the main narrative is driven by these two women, it unfolds against a backdrop of the formation and rise of the Labour Party – which was, at the time, a new socialist movement in British politics – and also the events of the First World War.
We also see a range of other key moments as part of the fight for securing votes for women, from Emily Davison’s protest at the Epsom Derby to hunger strikes and force feeding in prisons.
