Candlelight: Disney Love Songs Review at Southwark Cathedral

Candlelight: Disney Love Songs at Southwark Cathedral is a lovely date night, and it does exactly what it says on the ticket. A string quartet plays an hour of Disney and Pixar love songs in a nave lit by candles. The music is great, the cathedral is beautiful, and it’s well worth booking.

My only complaint is the view. Every seat is on the same level, so how much of the stage you see depends on who’s sat in front of you, and that’s what keeps it at 8/10 rather than higher. It looks like a venue issue rather than an event one, as plenty of Fever’s shows at other venues offer different layouts, including tiered seating.

I went to the 9pm sitting on Saturday 24 October with my partner, as part of Disney Concerts and Fever’s UK run of the show, which I covered when it was first announced. The quartet on the night was the Morassi Quartet.

Southwark Cathedral is a beautiful room to hear it in

A lot of the evening’s atmosphere comes from the building before a note is played. The nave is lined with candles, and for a set built entirely around love songs, the setting suits it perfectly.

Love has been part of the building for a long time, too. The medieval poet John Gower is buried here, and his tomb shows his head resting on his own books, including Confessio Amantis, a long poem made up of tales of love. Southwark Cathedral’s own history traces a church on the site back to the Domesday Book of 1086, though the nave you sit in is newer, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield in 1895. The church only became a cathedral in 1905.

Toy Story 2 and Up were the highlights

Fever’s programme runs from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through to Encanto, and the setlist is one of the night’s strengths. There are no vocals, so every song is arranged for two violins, a viola and a cello. The big ballads everyone came for are all there, from “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “A Whole New World” to “I See the Light” and “Dos Oruguitas”, alongside some of Pixar’s most emotional music.

The whole set landed well, but the two that hit hardest were both from Pixar: “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2 and “Married Life” from Up.

“When She Loved Me” is Randy Newman’s song, sung by Sarah McLachlan in the film over Jessie’s flashback to being outgrown by her owner.

“Married Life” is different. Michael Giacchino wrote it as an instrumental for the Up score that won him the Academy Award, so it’s one of the few pieces on the programme that was never meant to have a singer.

Breaking Free rescues the ending

“Married Life” closed the main set, and while it’s a beautiful piece, finishing on something that slow and emotional after an hour of ballads felt wrong. Most live music I’ve seen ends with a bang, and that’s what this needed.

The encore gave it that, because when the quartet said they’d finish with “Breaking Free” from High School Musical, the energy in the room changed straight away, and by the end everyone was left on a much higher note.

Arrive early to get the best view

Seating within each zone is first come, first served, so get there as early as you can for the best seats in your section.

I was in Zone A, relatively close to the players, but because the venue’s seating is all on one level, my view was often blocked. The music is the main event, and it sounded great. I just don’t feel I got the full experience. Watching the Morassi Quartet play is part of it, and I could only see them on and off, depending on how the people in front were sitting or whether they moved their heads.

It comes down to the venue rather than the production, and in a flat room like this, being closer to the stage doesn’t guarantee you a better view.

Should you book Candlelight: Disney Love Songs?

Yes. Any seat is worth it for the music and the setting, but go in knowing the view depends on who sits in front of you at Southwark Cathedral.

It makes a lovely date night, and because the concert runs for about an hour, it pairs well with dinner. I booked Piccolino Tower Bridge on More London Place for 6pm, and my partner and I had dinner and drinks there before walking over for the 9pm sitting.

Doors open three quarters of an hour before the start, and there’s no entry once the music begins, so give yourself time. Prices vary by zone and date, so check the Fever listing for the latest. The last London date in the current run is 31 October, with Manchester Cathedral following on 11 November.

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