Smith Square Hall is one of those buildings that you catch sight of as you pace down Millbank and wish you had an excuse to enter. It’s pure Baroque beauty, with four decorative corner towers that climb up into the grey-blue London sky, apocryphally inspired by the upended legs of Queen Anne’s footstool. Wild Arts, a charity supporting emerging artists and bringing orchestral music to new audiences, uses this space as the dramatic backdrop for its ravishing production of Handel’s Messiah. A perfect winter evening tonic for endless carolling and invitations to drink cocktails.
Before the show begins, charismatic bass singer Edward Hawkins draws the audience into the action by way of a short introduction about the theatrical heritage of Handel’s music. In the eighteenth-century staging, an actress was called upon to fill the soprano role in the Messiah and the chorus were instructed to perform a choreographed dance routine (alas, they couldn’t remember it when showtime came around).
The Wild Arts production follows suit by amplifying the drama of Handel’s storytelling. With aid from theatre director Tom Morris, opera singers move around the stage with palpable intensity and exultation to retell the story of Christ’s coming and mankind’s redemption. Particularly wonderful to watch is tenor Guy Elliott as he prophesises the immaculate conception with searching eyes and quivering physical excitement. Acting is taken further by mezzo-soprano Kate Symonds-Joy, who walks into the audience inviting spectators to ‘Get thee up into the mountain’ to celebrate the good tidings heralded by Christ’s birth. Overall, this approach is highly effective; not only does it add an immersive quality to the production, but, through physical cues, it helpfully elucidates the narrative arc of the music, which is, by turns, expectant, sorrowful and jubilant.
Solo performances are countered by terrific contrapuntal choral arrangements. Different voices interweave and melt into each other, implying mankind’s collective excitement at the arrival of Christ. Taken together, performers appear as angelic messengers spreading the Word. This association is further suggested by the use of space: vocalists perform from the celestial heights of the hall’s balconies or epiphanically begin arias from behind the audience. Inevitably, some may miss the ‘Grand Handel Chorus’ that captivated author George Eliot (when she watched it in 1840, there were 2,765 vocal and 460 instrumental performers). Yet the loss of elaborate stage spectacle is more than made up for in intimacy. Indeed, the Messiah’s consoling promise of ‘change’ is one that is addressed directly to the audience.
Conducting with his usual flair, Orlando Jopling gave listeners a treat. Strings were kept light and feathery, while the woodwind offering—comprised of a sole bassoon and two oboes—added a depth of texture to the sound. The harpsichord was on hand as a twinkling transition between movements, providing suitably Baroque flourishes. And during the final part of the oratorio, the performance climaxed in ‘He Trusted in God That He Would Deliver Him’, a collage of imploration as martial trumpets heralded God’s greatness and the chorus’ unified voices appeared to levitate in the air, as if reaching for heaven.
The occasional hesitant moment aside, Wild Arts’ Messiah delivers a sharp and intense celebration of Christian faith. It is illuminated by orchestration that charts the dramatic waves and troughs of the biblical narrative and irresistibly engages through a uniquely immersive approach to direction. This oratorio is a heartfelt Christmas tale that charms the ear and warms the soul.
Music: George Frideric Handel
Text: Carl Jennens compiled from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter
Musical Director: Orlando Jopling
Staging: Tom Morris
Photo credits: Steve Gregson
Vocals: Edward Hawkins; Timothy Nelson; Guy Elliott; Harry Jacques; Martha Jones; Kate Symonds-Joy; Sofia Kirwan-Baez; Joanna Songi.
Ensemble: Sijie Chen; Will McGahon; George Ross; Marianne Schofield; Andres Villalobos Lepiz; Geoff Coates; Chris Rawley; Sam Lewis; Brendan Musk; Tom Lee; Emma Alter; Manami Mizumoto.
Review by Olivia Hurton
9th December 2025