The Simon & Garfunkel Story at the Grand Opera House, York Review
The Simon & Garfunkel Story
Grand Opera House, York
9 July 2014
Reviewed by Emma Wasson
On arrival at the Grand Opera House in York to see The Simon & Garfunkel Story my tickets were waiting for me at the box office, the gentleman behind the desk found them immediately and was very polite. All encounters with staff were positive. The venue was clean and tidy and toilets were clean and tidy.
The show consisted of Dean Elliott, taking on the role of Paul Simon, Jonny Smart as Art Garfunkel and a trio of musicians, Leon Camfield on bass, Josh Powell on drums and Murrary Gardiner on electric guitar and keyboards, accompanying Dean and Jonny. The performance had been very cleverly thought out and researched and consisted of Dean and Jonny telling the story of Simon and Garfunkel in between performing numerous hits, spanning their careers. The story is told in time order starting way back in 1957 when Simon and Garfunkel first started out as teenagers calling themselves “Tom and Jerry”. Their life story unfolds on stage, telling the poignant moments of their lives, good and bad. Both Dean and Jonny were at ease with the audience from the start and told the famous pair’s story in an interesting way, engaging the audience throughout. The story and songs were aided by pictures portrayed on a large screen located at the back of the stage, and each song was linked to the pictures by showing pertinent political and social movements, famous faces, and brand names linked of the decades in question. It also included a good mix of photos of Simon and Garfunkel from the relevant decades.
The pair had clearly spent a lot of time researching the duo and had their mannerisms down to a tee, for example Jonny spent a lot of time with his hands tucked in his jeans pockets whilst he performed, and looked just like Garfunkel. They also had several costume changes throughout the show, all of which tied in with Simon and Garfunkel’s particular style and the fashions of the relevant decades in question. To top it off the pair had an uncanny likeness to the duo themselves, especially Jonny with his curly blond locks, it was clearly meant to be.
The pair encouraged audience participation throughout the show, by getting the audience to join in by clapping to create a beat to their songs, this was met with a mixed reaction, there were a few who were very keen to join in, however there was a large part of the audience who were more reserved, until during the second half of the performance when the majority of the audience were happy to join in when asked. However no-one was shy when it came to the band leaving the stage, the whole audience was demanding an encore like I’ve never experienced before, people were shouting, standing in their seats and stamping their feet until the band re-emerged to give the most amazing rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water that I have ever heard, Jonny sang most of this song solo and gave my friend and I goose bumps – Amazing!!! The show finished with a standing ovation and very loud cheers. If that could be topped off it was, by being able to meet Dean and Jonny in the bar after the performance, where they both signed my souvenir programme and told me that they had thoroughly enjoyed playing their first time at York Opera House.
Jonny and Dean are clearly extremely talented musicians/singers. Dean plays the guitar to the majority of the songs, whilst singing at the same time; it was a joy to listen to. The pair gave a perfectly polished performance with wonderful harmonies throughout this flawless production. Some of the earlier folk songs were just performed by Dean and Jonny without the backing musicians and this showed off their true talent and beautiful voices. However the majority of songs are performed with the backing musicians and they all did an amazing job to bring the music to life, to give it additional depth and feeling. There was a nice touch towards the end of the show as the trio get to perform solo, as the period after Simon and Garfunkel split after 1970 is portrayed by various images shown on the main screen the musicians play various songs whilst these images are revealed.
Born during the mid 1970’s, after Simon and Garfunkel had already split up, I was always going to be too young to remember the duo from my childhood, however this did not matter one bit, as the majority of their songs are so well known that it doesn’t matter in which decade you were born. This performance appeals to all ages of music lovers.
Overall, the show was extremely enjoyable, performed by a likeable and extremely talented duo, who not only had an uncanny likeness to Simon and Garfunkel but are clearly talented artists in their own right. What a lovely way to spend an evening listening to great classics such as Scarborough Fair, Homewood Bound, Hazy Shade of Winter, Mrs Robinson and Bridge of Troubled Water, and also learning more about the infamous duo themselves “Simon and Garfunkel”. I would definitely recommend this show to my friends and would go and watch them perform live again.
Rating: 5/5 
The Simon & Garfunkel Story is touring the UK until November 2014. For more information, tour dates or to book tickets at a venue near you visit www.thesimonandgarfunkelstory.com.
Grand Opera House York, Clifford and Cumberland Street, York, YO1 9SW | 0844 8713024
