Theatre Review: THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY – Waterside Arts, Sale

THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY is not a tribute or a pastiche, but a loving homage to the music we all know and love.

5 out of 5 stars

Say the names Simon and Garfunkel to anyone and they will instantly have a place, a time and at least half a dozen song titles immediately in their head. Along with Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel held up a mirror to the immense changes in culture and society happening in the world in the late 1960s. They were simply a soundtrack to a disaffected generation.

Fast forward to 2023 and although Simon and Garfunkel are both older and mostly retired the music and presentation is being kept more than alive by THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY. Having had repeated sell out world tours and a colossal run at The Adelphi Theatre in London the UK tour is now well under way and last night in Sale it was the 1960s.

The attention to detail is stunning. The backing musicians of Leon Camfield, Will Tuckwell and Matt Swales are exceptional in their abilities and are clad in typical 1960s musician attire. The pre-show music is from the era. The use of a filmed backdrop is very clever; from the outset we have the scene set with excerpts from Kenney. Martin Luther King, contemporary protests along with adverts and the moon landings- and let’s not forget tupperware. Director Dean Elliott has thought to include all the elements that make it so very recognisable as the 1960s.

The two main components; Paul Simon played by William Sharpe and Oliver Cave as Art Garfunkel, are simply stunning. Their harmonies are a joy and they both capture their representations with aplomb; Simon’s more forceful, clear as a bell tone and Garfunkel’s almost reedy turning to steel harmonies.

As they take us through the eras with subtle costume changes to show the advancing years we are treated to a romp through the extensive back catalogue; even the duo’s first outing as Tom and Jerry is here along with lesser known songs such as Patterns and Leaves that are Green. This song particularly is accompanied by a reminder that time marches on and age comes to all. This is nice to see as Patterns especially being an album track is often overlooked. The best is, however, saved to last with Oliver Cave singing Bridge Over Troubled Water so amazingly that it is at times as though it IS Art Garfunkel there. He truly has an amazing voice. The final song of the night is The Boxer, surely one of Paul Simon’s finest and William Sharp embodies Paul Simon in this.

Put simply this is a night to remember. The audience jumped to their feet at the end and rightly and deservedly so. The musicians are fantastic, the staging is exquisite and the sound Simon and Garfunkel live on. This is not a tribute or a pastiche, this is a loving homage and recreation of a time and place with music we all know, love and above all want to hear.

THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY played at Waterside Arts, Sale, on 16 September 2023