Edinburgh Evening News Review: Fiddler On the Roof ***

By Sarah Nisbet

AT a time when the nonstop sugar rush of High School Musical and Legally Blonde have set the winsome tone for contemporary musicals, Joseph Stein's Fiddler on the Roof can be forgiven for seeming a little outdated.

But behind the provincial nostalgia of its title lies a bolshie, credible show that reflects the religious and political tensions of the present-day world.

"Fiddler" is no doubt a musical which perseveres to educate and enlighten as much as it does entertain.

This production from Southern Light Opera is no different, with director Andy Johnston striking a balance between the show's light-hearted humour and more heart-rending moments. The mood is staunchly set from the start as the cast emerge from behind the Jewish stethl to perform the anthemic Tradition. It is here that we are introduced to milkman Tevye, his wife and five daughters.

Lech Boron is brilliant as the kvetching, Tevye. From the bawdy If I Were a Rich Man to the softer Sabbath Prayer, Boron performs the role with chutzpah and beguiling charm.

While Tevye is indisputably the life and soul of "Fiddler", Boron receives solid support from the production's other principal players. Playing Tevye's long-suffering wife, Golde, is the delightful Laura Jordan Reed. With her skilful comic-timing and big-hearted demeanour, she asserts herself firmly as the devoted matriarch.

Furthermore, Dorothy Johnstone puts in a wickedly comic performance as the town's matchmaker, Yente.

There are times though when Fiddler comes unstuck. In the show's group numbers, Jerome Robbins' vigorous choreography can appear restricted and lax.

But such minor quibbles are irrelevant: the production's strength is found not in its upbeat routines but in the narrative's emotional core. From Tevye's heartbreaking rejection of youngest daughter Chava, Hodel's farewell and the villagers' final chorus the solemn, Anatevka, Fiddler acts as bittersweet reminder of man's desire to overcome oppression - a universal, timeless theme.