Chess is renowned in some quarters for being a bit all over the place, both literally and figuratively. Early in Act One, the action is in Merano, Italy – before the interval, there’s a long scene at the British Embassy in Rome. Act Two begins, as the song title puts it, with ‘One Night in Bangkok’, before a television interview that goes wrong, foreign diplomats in deep-level discussions, other private meetings between the main characters, and more. The World Chess Championship being contested between an American and a Russian during the Cold War was never going to be just about chess, and as this musical would have it, international press interest was off the scale.
A recent Broadway revival began previews in October 2025 and closed in June 2026, with a restructured storyline, and, apparently, it was boring with a capital B. This version, as far as I could tell, keeps the 1986 version intact, and I wasn’t bored for even one-fifth of a nanosecond: the two hours and forty minutes (there’s an interval) felt considerably less, and while the set wasn’t exactly grand, it was far from minimalist. It was, I thought, not difficult to work out what was going on, even if the rapidity of some of the lyrics meant I didn’t necessarily catch each and every line.
It is not an easy show for any company to take on, tackling some complex personal and political issues, which possibly explains, at least in part, why it hasn’t been revived as often as those who love it would like. That a cohort of musical theatre students – I think it’s safe to say none of whom remember the dissolution of the Soviet Union, let alone the Cold War – take on characters who are largely older than themselves so convincingly is testament to their individual and collective skills and abilities. More widely, of course, it effectively means there are three certainties in this life – death, taxes, and the bright future of British musical theatre.
Songs from Chess regularly make appearances in musical theatre concerts. ‘I Know Him So Well’, released as a single in 1985, spent four weeks at number one in the UK. With that in mind, it was great to hear and see the musical numbers performed in context, and to understand their ‘true’ meaning within a larger narrative.
Despite the show’s title, I didn’t come away with a better understanding of chess than when I went into the theatre: I suppose there’s a metaphor of sorts in the contenders for world chess champion being moved about by mainstream media, competition organisers, their own managements, and even government spies, as though they were chess pieces themselves.
This production had a very 1980s feel to it, even down to grainy (by today’s standards) video images as well as the soft rock music beats that the Royal Academy of Music’s student orchestra glided through as brilliantly as the more majestic and sweeping numbers. Possibly the most sustained applause at the performance I attended was at the close of ‘Nobody’s Side’, sung gloriously by Laura Araiza Inasaridse in the role of Florence Vassy. Adam Haddour’s Anatoly Sergievsky didn’t have the strongest Russian accent I’ve come across on the London stage, but his rendering of ‘Anthem’ at the close of Act One was sublime. And overall, this was a full-bodied and magnificent experience. For much of the evening, I’d forgotten I was watching a student production – this was better than many a professional production I’ve seen over the years.
Review by Chris Omaweng
The iconic musical where power and passion collide. It’s America versus Russia at the World Chess Championship, where the espionage and romance are as complicated and exhilarating as the game itself.
For the two players and the woman torn between them, everything – personal, professional and political – is at risk… and nobody’s rules are the same.
Frederick ‘Freddie’ Trumper – Emilio Moreno Arias
Florence Vassy – Laura Araiza Inasaridse
Anatoly Sergievsky – Adam Haddour
Walter de Courcey – Hector Price
Alexander Molokov – James Wang
The Arbiter – Jobim Ffrench
Svetlana Sergievskaya – Rachelle Ojomo
Pop Choir – Noah Bradley, Noa Groenen, Charlie Holliday, Sophie Laden, Santi Lembo, Kacey Wadge
Company – Rafael Ai, George Cass, Jacob Dyksterhouse, Conor Ellison, Honey Gawn-Hopkins, Josie Griffiths, Kelly Ha, Helen Huang, Harry James, Natacha Maia, Harry McCarthy, Abbey McGiff, Georgia Mercer, Charlie Moscrop, Daniel Nardone, William Parsons, Matilda Shapland, Shivaane Subash
Music and lyrics by Benny Andersson, Tim Rice and Björn Ulvaeus
Director – Bruce Guthrie
Choreographer – Ben Hartley
Set and Video Designer – Andrzej Goulding
Costume Designer – Sophia Pardon
Lighting Designers – Imogen Clarke, Rob Halliday
Original Orchestrations and Arrangements by Anders Eljas
Sound Designer – Mike Walker
Musical Directors – George Jackson and Nathan Feeney
CHESS
Royal Academy of Music
2 to 5 July 2026
