A Man of Good Hope @ Royalty Theatre, Adelaide 7/3/2019

A Man of Good Hope is a musical created in South Africa by  Young Vic with the Isango Ensemble helping out with the music. This wonderful show has toured the world and after Adelaide, they are off to New Zealand, France and London.

This musical is about the epic story of Asad Abdullahi who started in war-torn Somalia and ended up in various countries in Africa.  This production effectively used a sloping stage purpose-built for this production. The hand made sets were impressive and the use of doors held by the cast was particularly clever in showing the transition from one country to another.

The cast was magnificent and most had many roles. The singing was a highlight and it changed from normal singing to opera and then to a church choir at various times. Asad was played by 3 different actors over his life and it was impressive how through the use of a simple white cap the transition between the ages was handled.

This is a joyous bombastic epic show with sensational dancing and a worthy addition to the Adelaide Festival. It is a story of hope, despair and struggle. It is bittersweet that Asad who the book and musical were written about has never read or seen it as he feels the story of his past to be too sad and he wishes to live in the present.

Adelaide Festival Review By Richard De Pizzol

For tickets to A Man Of Good Hope head to the Adelaide Festival website