“Brel runs the gamut of emotion from irony through rue and all the way to profound regret. Even in his most heinous tragedies Shakespeare provided a bit of comic relief; Brel and his adapters would have done well to follow his example.”

Writing briefly on 7 shows, aside from The Tempest, and McAnuff’s success with Shakespeare, Jones has great things to say about Brent Carver. “In Arima’s expansive and yearning production of “Brel” (the Stratford show that most surprises in its scope and potency) Carver latches onto that essential Brel essence: we’re on a desperate carousel, mostly alone and we can’t get off.”

“A Canadian boy who has made good in the West End”… Stafford Arima, “finds a fine balance between romantic readings of the songs, more comic interpretations and moments where vocal exhibitionism is allowed to reign.” 3.5/4 Stars

“Under the direction of Stafford Arima, the musical… has been deconstructed and rebuilt to showcase Brel’s talents for a new generation, while remaining true to the show’s roots.”

Reid includes a reference to Paul Quarrington that can’t be summarized here, adding “The whole production, from beginning to end, is note perfect – nothing rings false, flat or hollow. The only negative thing about the production is that it seems far too short; the time flies by much too quickly. ”

“Go to hear Brel, some fine musicians, the great Carver and the rising supernova Nadajewski, but be prepared to forgive a lot of other sins along the way.”