Andrew Barth Feldman’s performance as Nero drives the Southwark Playhouse production. After making his Broadway debut in Dear Evan Hansen at sixteen, he now makes his London stage debut. His youthful appearance and clear voice are especially effective for a character who gains enormous power so young.
“The emperor who fiddled while Rome burned.” This notorious image follows Nero’s name. The new musical Nero at Southwark Playhouse Elephant looks beyond it. Behind the cruel emperor stands an anxious young man. He is a son seeking approval and an artist hungry for applause. Song and dance invite us to look again at a familiar historical figure.
Spring Awakening collaborators Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik wrote the book and lyrics, and the music, respectively. Lindsay Posner directs this production from Park Myung-Sung and South Korea’s Seensee Company. The work began in 2003 and first reached the stage at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre in 2006. Seensee joined in 2022 and helped develop the piece through further workshops and revisions.
In the programme, Park points to the pursuit of power and the ways history repeats itself. He sees ancient Rome reflected in today’s world. As a Korean watching these acts of poisoning and betrayal, I also thought of my own country’s history. The Rome on stage did not feel unfamiliar.
Before the press night performance, Sater briefly struggled to speak as he remembered his long-time creative partner. Sheik died on September 17 and never saw this London production. The music that followed made us miss him while revealing the richness of the imagination he left behind.
The variety of that music is one of Nero’s greatest strengths. Guitar and double bass bring different textures alongside the harp, while electronic sounds shift the mood again. Lyrical melodies draw us into the characters’ inner lives as strong rhythms and bold numbers reveal the world of performance and display that Nero longs for. The score’s changing sounds suit his restless moods and desires.
James Cousins’ choreography gives the music a physical life, as the ensemble moves between roles and brings fresh energy to each scene. Changes in costume and make-up only add to the visual variety as a busy stage gives way to a single isolated figure. These contrasts help create a sense of scale without huge sets.
The production makes active use of the Elephant’s challenging layout. Actors move through the audience entrances and into the upper-level band area. Their arrivals and exits give scene changes pace and make the space feel larger. Production designer Georgia Lowe’s red velvet curtain gives way to a reflective wall in Act Two, and faint images of the audience become part of the stage picture. Some action on the floor is difficult to see directly but appears in reflection. These reflected bodies have a strange and unsettling quality.
Andrew Barth Feldman’s performance as Nero drives the production. After making his Broadway debut in Dear Evan Hansen at sixteen, he now makes his London stage debut. His youthful appearance and clear voice are especially effective for a character who gains enormous power so young.
Feldman draws laughter with broad expressions and gestures while catching the small emotional shifts beneath them. Anxiety crosses a face that had confidently demanded attention. When approval is denied, his need for it turns into irritation and threats. Changes in his voice and manner reveal Nero’s development over time. His clear upper register lets us hear the vulnerability beneath the display. His tyrannical side remains visible in comic moments. Even in cruelty, we glimpse the young man who wants applause. He makes this contradictory figure hard to look away from.
Stephen Carlile brings humour and a strong presence to Seneca through exaggerated gestures and distinctive singing. Sally Dexter’s assured Agrippina adds weight to the struggle for power around her son. The ensemble also works hard to connect the show’s humour and music with its darker events.
These elements could come together more fully to give the production a clearer sense of what it wants to say. Allowing the characters’ choices and emotions to develop further could also bring greater depth to Nero and his relationships. Even so, the music and performances give us reasons to look forward to the show’s next stage. Feldman’s detailed acting and the energy he brings deserve to be experienced up close. The intimate setting makes Feldman’s performance all the more compelling. His subtle expressions and remarkable energy are well worth experiencing up close.
Nero is playing at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant through to December 5.
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