Far be it from me to seek out hyper-realism on stage, but the extreme detail in Sterophonic — from the overlapping conversations, to detailed props, to a set that includes fully functional reels and tapes in the recording studio — creates a spellbinding world that pulls you in to the drama of this band.
Framed around a fictional band, the story rather closely aligns with the real life story of Fleetwood Mac, which is both its strength, and in my view, its downfall. The spine of the story structure is so clear, and fictionalising the conversations that may have happened over the course of recording this album was very compelling, creating tension through the work that spills out into the music they are co-creating. This same structure, however, is its drawback. The central character whose anger, narcissism, and misogyny create an abusive situation that while the work is good, is an unhealthy environment for all. The script has an opportunity to do what we haven’t been great at in reality, and hold the character to account. Unfortunately by sticking to reality, while he loses “the girl” and the band breaks up, he is still successful and faces no real consequences. In a way, the script explains and makes excuses for the abusive auteur who creates good art. Not a message we want to land in 2025….
This is unfortunate, as the performances were uniformly strong, the cast exceptional, the direction tight and intentional.