Category: Current Productions

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Theatre review: Unicorn with Nicola Walker, Stephen Mangan & Erin Doherty

Two plus one equals a challenging comedy


★★★★

Stephen Mangan, Nicola Walker & Erin Doherty in Unicorn. Photo: Marc Brenner

Unicorn is about a middle-aged couple played by Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan who are attracted to the idea of introducing a third person into their relationship- in the form of a younger woman played by Erin Doherty.

This makes it a difficult play to review. Not because of some of the language- although that’s a problem too- but because so much of the play is about whether they will or won’t go ahead. I’ll do my best to talk about this adventurous comedy without giving away any spoilers.

Here are some things I can tell you about Unicorn. It’s funny, although the light-heartedness does give way to something deeper in the second half. I can also tell you it’s about emotional relationships rather than a simple threesome (if indeed a threesome is ever simple). And, even if it is about more than physical gratification, there is nevertheless much frank- and indeed filthy- talk about sex.

Having said that, if you were hoping to see these beloved stars in the buff, or were perhaps dreading the embarrassment of seeing bits of them that are normally covered up, there are no depictions of sex. They don’t even undress, well, Nicola Walker does take her shoes off. Frankly, it’s shocking enough to hear Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan talking about sex in explicit four letter words- yes, even that word- without them actually doing it.

Our middle-aged couple still say they love one another but wonder if a third person might spice things up their sex life. Fortunately Polly, played by Nicola Walker at her most hesitant and nervously sensual, is a lecturer, and one of her mature but much younger than her students has the hots for her. And she feels the same.

Normally, if that’s the right word in this unusual situation, it’s difficult to find a young woman who wants a relationship with an older couple. (I’m not saying this from personal experience- it’s what we’re told in the play.) As rare as a unicorn, in fact. But fortunately, Kate, played by Erin Doherty, is interested, and so the story begins. The very word ‘unicorn’ may suggest a fantasy but we go with it because this is a scintillating script by Mike Bartlett, and these three actors, under James Macdonald’s direction, know exactly what to do with it.  Their comic timing is exquisite.

Erin Doherty nails the younger woman: frank, matter-of-fact and with a clear picture of what she wants. She talks loud and without hesitation. The generational gap is portrayed well. Stephen Mangan as Nick is especially good as an older man tying himself in knots as he tries to contain what he fears is stereotypical masculinity. He and Nicola Walker capture that respectful tone of the woke London middle class who are aware they shouldn’t offend or take risks, so beat about the bush and constantly retreat from what they really want.  ‘It’s entirely possible that on some level this is inappropriate,’ says Polly to Kate. Even when they kiss, all three contain any passion they might feel in favour of conversation.

So we journey through the first half continuing a will-they-won’t-they situation. At this point, I think I can add something to my plot summary. It might be a spoiler but I doubt you imagine this prevarication, funny as it is, could possibly continue for over two hours. In the second half, they do get together, but only after some significant turning points in all their lives.  We find that 30 year old Kate is increasingly the driving force in the potential three-way relationship, and we realise why. She comes to represent not only hope for the throuple but also a wider hope for humanity.

Nicola Walker & Erin Doherty in Unicorn. Photo: Marc Brenner

As we move into the dynamics of the menage-a-trois, and its ups and downs (no innuendo intended), the humour subsides a little in favour of more philosophical conversations. To summarise: we live in dangerous times, when the world and our bodies are threatened by pollution. We’re brought up on Disney happy-ever-after movies and bicycles made for two. So our primary choice of heteronormative coupling is tied up with this failed society. A willingness to try new, honest ways of living and loving could be the path to happiness and a better world.

It’s clear from the start that this particular arrangement is so rare that it is close to a fairy tale, a fairy tale that even features a unicorn. Then again,  children’s fairy tales are a way of tackling the challenges offered by a world that can seem dark and forbidding. I don’t want to say whether their happiness ultimately comes from their being all together or working out different kinds of relationships, but I certainly came out of the theatre feeling upbeat about the world.

Miriam Buether’s set is half of a dome, the other half being in effect the fourth wall. It occasionally concertinas up at the back to allow an entrance. The impression is that the three are contained within a cocoon, thus adding to the feeling that they are in a fantasy world. The backdrop is bathed in different colours, and sometimes Natasha Chivers‘ lighting design casts multiple shadows. I’m not sure if that’s to indicate the multiple possibilities of modern relationships or more mundanely to make the image of two or three people on stage more visually stimulating. There are few props- chairs or a sofa to sit on, a bed to lie on. Refreshingly, both designer and director take a discreet approach that lets the actors to do their job.

I certainly wouldn’t go see Unicorn if you’re hoping for an erotic evening, but if you take it as a fantasy delve into changing attitudes to relationships, then it’s both interesting and funny. If nothing else, it will get you talking, and who knows what that might lead to.

Unicorn can be seen at the Garrick Theatre until 26 April 2025.

Paul paid for his ticket.

Click here to watch this review on the YouTube channel Theatre Reviews With Paul Seven

 

 

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The Little Foxes at the Young Vic – review

Anne-Marie Duff is chilling in 20th century classic

★★★★

A woman in a dress holding a cup faces a man in a suit with a paper under his arm, both are standing
Anne-Marie Duff & Mark Bonnar in The Little Foxes. Photo: Johan Persson

Like me, you probably see more acting on TV than in the theatre. That means I’m always interested to see whether a favourite actor can make that transition from screen to stage.  The Little Foxes at the Young Vic was packed with faces from British television. Mark Bonnar who you will have seen in Shetland and Guilt; Steffan Rhodri best known as Dave Coaches from Gavin & Stacey; Anna Madeley who is Mrs Hall in All Creatures Great And Small; and one certifiable star in Anne-Marie Duff most recently seen in Bad Sisters.

I have seen all these actors on stage before, but it is still a thrill to be reminded that, like so many other screen actors, they are often only giving us a glimpse of their skills when they’re in front of a camera. The real test of their acting ability comes when they are trapped in the time and space of a theatre show, communicating directly with a live audience. This cast passed the test with distinction. 
Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes was premiered in 1939 but this attack on capitalism focuses on a family of landowners from the American South around 1900. So, the first question you might ask is, why did Lillian Hellman, who was a communist by the way, set her play around 40 years in the past? I’m guessing it’s because 1939 was not the best time for an anti-capitalist message. America had just experienced successful state intervention in their free market system in the form of Roosevelt’s New Deal, so a mixed economy may have seemed more attractive than a communist one. More than that, communists, capitalists, rich and poor were in the process of uniting in a fight against fascism, or at least that was the perception. So it might have been easier to show unadulterated capitalism, raw in tooth and claw as it were, from a couple of generations earlier.
The first half introduces us to the Hubbard family. There are two brothers- Ben played by Mark Bonnar, cunning as a fox and arrogant as a peacock, initially strutting about the stage, nonchalantly shrugging off challenges. Ben boasts of the way his family, who were traders, took advantage of the Civil War to buy up property while the Southern grandees were being defeated, fighting for their principles. He is even proud of their exploitation of what he calls ‘coloured people’.
The other brother Oscar, a weak bully, is played by Steffan Rhodri with a rat-like blend of slyness and nerves. The lead character is their sister Regina played by Anne-Marie Duff. Her bravura performance dominates the evening, entrancing us with her hyperactive character, who is by turn charming, quivering with frustration or displaying a diamond hard will power that is genuinely chilling. Her sparkling eyes and wide smile are a mask that covers her amorality.
The brothers inherited their father’s money. When they have an investment opportunity that will make them a huge fortune, Regina is shocked and angry to find she has been left out of the spoils. She plots to get both her share and revenge, by using her ailing husband’s money to make up the additional investment her brothers need.
After a slow first half that establishes the characters and their situation, the play takes off like a SpaceX rocket, as these greedy siblings ruthlessly trick and use one another.  Regina becomes more ruthless than any of them in her ambition.
It’s a savage expose of people whose greed trounces love, loyalty and all other moral values. But, is it relevant today? I guess the answer to that partly depends on your politics, but the fact is, capitalism remains the dominant system, despite regulation and the welfare state. Add to which, we appear to be entering an era of less regulation, in America at least, and we have seen the privatisation of public services in the UK. So I suppose it is a good time to be reminded that however high the quality of service or product we receive from companies, their number one priority is profit, not people. 

Powerful performance from Anna Madeley

A mature woman in a dress looks down
Anna Madeley in The Little Foxes. Photo: Johan Persson

The play presents some alternatives. Oscar’s wife Birdie is from an aristocratic family. She represents the ‘old values’ based on patronage, duty and responsibility. She is an alcoholic, bullied by her husband, and ghosted into a lack of confidence. She may be brittle- she laughs nervously, she looks down, there’s fear in her eyes- but still expresses her beliefs. It’s a powerful performance from Anna Madeley, showing Birdie beaten down but still proud. The quality and depth of her acting won’t surprise you if you’ve seen her as Mrs Hall, giving much-needed weight to the cosiness of All Creatures Great and Small.

Regina’s husband and daughter show that behaving morally is an option. They are played by John Light and Eleanor Worthington-Cox, the latter subtly showing how her character grows in strength as events force her to choose between standing up for her beliefs or standing by watching. In fact, the play’s strongest message is that most of us stand by watching bad things happening and do nothing about it. In stark contrast, Oscar’s son, played by Stanley Morgan, is morally bankrupt, like his father.
The black servants show two different sides of the class that has been most exploited and abused by this family. Freddie MacBruce as Cal goes about his job without question, but Andrea Davy’s Addie is firm in her opinions and tenderly loyal to those who treat her well.
Quite a few reviewers criticised the design, suggesting that its mid 20th century look was not appropriate, and even confusing, when used in a play set in 1900. On the contrary, I think Lizzie Clachan’s design is a stroke of genius. First and foremost, it doesn’t distract. A turn of the century design could have made the story seem of a bygone age, irrelevant to today. On the other hand, modern day clothes would have been too anachronistic for a play that’s set over a hundred years ago and mentions horses and carriages.
Instead, Ms Clachan cleverly plumps for the neutrality of clothes of the time it was written. The dominant beige reinforces this.  The absence of the trappings of the life of the well-off suggests these are people who want wealth for its own sake. They aren’t even that interested in enjoying the luxuries that come with it.
It’s a damning picture of capitalism but I think it’s unfair to suggest, as some critics did, that it fails because the main character doesn’t evoke enough sympathy. I found that I had plenty of sympathy with her over the way she was treated and therefore cheered her on as she exacted revenge. But that sympathy only heightened the shock of seeing just how far she would go and what sacrifices she would make. Yes, she does become a monster but it seems possibly sexist to me to suggest that this portrait of a greedy capitalist woman can only can only be of interest if we have sympathy for her. I don’t think you have to sympathise with the murdering Macbeth to get involved in his character and story, or with the greedy Lehman Brothers to find them fascinating. I didn’t like Regina as a human being but it was gripping to see how far she would go and whether she would finally realise there is more to life than money.
Director Lyndsey Turner delivers a powerful interpretation and the excellent cast squeeze every ounce of drama out of it. Before the interval I was wondering whether it was ever going to take off but when it did it was riveting. And if you love watching great acting, this is one not to miss.

The Little Foxes is at the Young Vic until 8 February 2025. Buy tickets direct from the theatre

Paul paid for his ticket
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Theatre Reviews Roundup – The Devil Wears Prada

Vanessa Williams stars in Elton John musical

Dominion Theatre
Vanessa Williams and Matt Henry in The Devil Wears Prada. Photo: Matt Crockett

This musical is based on the popular film starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci. It has been adapted by Kate Wetherhead with music by Elton John. After a lukewarm response to its premiere in Chicago, musicals heavyweight Jerry Mitchell has been brought in to direct and choreograph.

The producers may be disappointed at receiving so many two star reviews but the critics’ overall view that it is a victory for style over substance may not concern those audiences who love a bit of style. The stars Vanessa Williams, Georgie Buckland, Amy di Bartolomeo and Matt Henry were, on the whole, well received, as was the choreography.

The critics couldn’t agree about Elton John‘s music with comments ranging from ‘lackkustre’ to ‘irresistable’. Similarly, the clothes, which are an essential ingredient, were described by BroadwayWorld as ‘What the show gets right’ and by WhatsOnStage as ‘deeply disappointing’. Theatre critics turned into would-be fashion writers as they disagreed on whether the frocks were authentic haute couture or knockoffs.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

For Martin Robinson at The Standard (5★) it was ‘absolutely fabulous’.  He said, ‘Elton John’s irresistible songs are the highlight of this big, bold, metaphorically shoulder-padded musical…The tunes, from disco to power pop to Broadway homage, are draped in witty lyrics by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick, and belted out by a glamazon cast in a ritzy, glitzy production by director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell that conquers the cavernous Dominion.’ He noted, ‘Williams sings with withering power’

Chris Omaweng for LondonTheatre1 (4★) said, ‘Jerry Mitchell’s signature “full out” choreography is delightful, and the music has the kind of campy and upbest drive one would expect from Sir Elton John.’  Saying he’d see it again, he ended, ‘there are some decent punchlines to chortle at and a stellar cast with plenty of talent to enjoy.’

The Times’ Clive Davis (3★) called it ‘efficient, well-groomed, and, at times, a tiny bit dull’.

Fiona Mountford at i-news (3★) thought there were pros and cons. On the plus side, ‘The costumes are, of course, fabulous, and Williams, a made-to-measure fit for the Priestly part as the undisputed mistress of the wither put-down, could not look more stylish.’ However, ‘If only this fabulousness could extend to director Jerry Mitchell’s choreography, which is bewilderingly and irredeemably naff, like a local Zumba class attempting a line dance.’

Olivia Rook for LondonTheatre (3★) said Vanessa Williams ‘has an incredible stage presence’. She also thought ‘Georgie Buckland impresses as ambitious Andy’ and ‘Amy Di Bartolomeo gives a stand-out performance as first assistant Emily’. However she was unimpressed by the costumes: ‘They’re too garish and, in some cases, shapeless — and certainly don’t scream haute couture.’

Aliya Al-Hassan of BroadwayWorld (2★) disagreed about the frocks: ‘What the show gets right are the clothes. Costume Designer Gregg Barnes has blown a considerable budget on pieces from Tom Ford, Dior and Prada, to name just a few.’ She did concur that Amy di Bartolomeo gave a ‘standout performance’, saying ‘she’s funny, engaging and a thrill to watch’.  Otherwise, ‘Musically is where the show really stumbles. A day after viewing, I was struggling to recall a single melody.’ She was disappointed that ‘The Devil Wears Prada may look great, but misses the chance to say anything new or even interesting.’

Tim Bano in The Stage (2★) was left cold: ‘It looks impressive, in a spangly, shallow way, and convinces itself it has something to say in order to disguise its preening vacuity. As a musical it’s pretty and uninteresting, shot through with the kind of obviousness and mediocrity that Miranda Priestly would abhor.’ He lamented, ‘The wit and bite of the film are gone.’

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (2★) reached for the booze, calling it ‘A prosecco o’clock musical, briskly directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell’. She thought ‘none of the characters on stage feel real or alive’. She said, ‘You find yourself asking: “Why?” How does this show add to the film, riff off it or bring the satire – and celebration – of the fashion industry up to date?’ On the plus side, she said the ‘lyrics are serviceable and John’s music exuberant. Vanessa Williams is a powerhouse singer’.

For Miriam Sallon at WhatsOnStage (2★), ‘The singing is spectacular, and the chorus line has not a single high kick out of place.’ But, ‘the tunes are mostly lacklustre and the script in between is just a regurgitation of the film’s best-known lines.’ ‘Ultimately,’ she said, ‘The Devil Wears Prada is promising couture but offering something off-the-rack.’ She declared, ‘the costumes are deeply disappointing…Tens of shoddy fake Chanel jackets do not a fashion show make.’

Susannah Clapp in The Observer (2★) saw little merit in it: ‘John’s music – power ballads, rock, disco – pounds remorselessly…Mitchell’s angry, ugly choreography sets everyone marching catwalk-style and punching the air as if they were at a political rally. Gregg Barnes’s costumes are sharp, but often more aggressive than alluring’. She continued, ‘Fascinating detail has been flattened.’

The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish (2★) described it as ‘shiny yet bafflingly skimpy’. He found, ‘You sit through song after song, waiting for your heart to beat faster, but little lands or lifts’.

Alice Saville in The Independent went straight for the jugular: ‘The Devil Wears Prada is truly diabolical.’ She explained, ‘Jerry Mitchell’s production feels less like an ironic comment on the Noughties, than it does a time capsule from back then – albeit one where groundwater has seeped in and made everything a bit limp and soggy.’ And just for good measure, she said the music was ‘surprisingly unmemorable’.

Critics’ Average Rating 2.8★

Value Rating 31 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price)

The Devil Wears Prada is at the Dominion Theatre, currently booking until 3 January 2026. Click here to buy tickets direct.

Read Paul Seven Lewis’ review here

If you’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion, please add your review and rating below 

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Theatre review – The Devil Wears Prada with Vanessa Williams – Dominion

Vanessa Williams does it with style


★★★★

Vanessa Williams and Matt Henry in The Devil Wears Prada. Photo: Matt Crockett

There’s no denying this musical offers style over substance, but, if you don’t go expecting substance, you will be rewarded with plenty of style. It helps of course that The Devil Wears Prada has a book by Kate Wetherhead, music by Elton John, lyrics by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick and a star like Vanessa Williams, but what really cements these contributions into a great musical is the director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell. This guy knows how to put on a show. His production packs the stage with dazzling dance routines, soaring voices, brilliant sets and just sheer energy.

Very much in line with the film, it tells the story of a serious young journalist called Andrea who gets a job working for a prestigious but, to her, frivolous fashion magazine as second assistant to the tyrannical editor. It’s a kind of Faustian pact in which she has to trade her principles for journalistic success. The question is, will she or won’t she? Spoiler alert!- she doesn’t.
Let’s start with how it looks (very appropriate for a show about the fashion industry). The stage is brilliantly lit by Bruno Poet and populated by fabulous dresses designed by Greg Barnes. I believe at least some of them are genuine haute couture frocks. Even the proscenium arch has a strip of neon light running round it like the beading on a Chanel handbag. Tim Hatley’s sets suggest the opulence of the world they describe, except of course the set for Andy’s poky apartment. You have never seen such vivid reds as at the Ball, centred on an extravagant staircase. And Paris is evoked not only by a giant depiction of the Eiffel Tower but also beautiful red white and blue colours.
The Dominion has a large stage but this show has no problem filling it. Over two dozen performers go through their routines with military precision. Okay, there is the odd occasion when they seem to be just running around but mostly the moves are eye-catching and clever. Models sway down the aisles onto the stage. The second act opens in a hospital where a row of handsome male nurses form a chorus line.
The principal characters are sharply drawn and perfectly cast. Vanessa Williams as Miranda Priestly, editor of the Vogue-like Runway magazine, is stupendous, every bit as haughty, cutting and frightening as you would hope. In a ‘less is more’ performance, she emanates power. It’s only a shame that Elton John hasn’t come up with a song that truly conveys her devilish character.
Georgie Buckland as Andy makes her West End debut but you would imagine she was a musical veteran, such is the confidence and versatility with which she acts the part of a mouse that becomes a tiger. Very nearly stealing the show is Amy di Bartolomeo who is very funny as Emily, Miranda’s desperate, appearance-obsessed primary personal assistant. All three women have extraordinarily good singing voices, the kind that can hit spine tinglingly high notes.
Nigel- the Stanley Tucci part in the movie (I say that because I’m not exactly sure what this character’s job is, but he’s important and he befriends Andy)-is played by Matt Henry with humour and sensitivity.
Georgie Buckland in The Devil Wears Prada

I was concerned by the end of the first act that too many of Elton John’s songs were fast moving and rhythm heavy in the style of Crocodile Rock. Then again, the relentless rock matched Andy’s experience of being swept along by the pace and pressure of her new job.

The second act is a different proposition. The book and the songs reveal  more about the characters’ personalities and stories, so there’s room for slower and more poignant songs, which carry the familiar Elton John stamp. The lyrics are quite witty and take the story forward. Nigel in particular has a plaintive song Seen in which he describes being an ostracised gay youngster saved by joining the fashion world.
So the music works, even if there are no showstoppers and you don’t leave singing any of the songs. At this point, I should say that the live band under Katharine Woolley drives the show like a Ferrari.
Lightweight, yes, but thanks to a fabulous production and splendid performers, this is a musical to savour. That’s all!
The Devil Wears Prada can be seen at The Dominion Theatre until 3 January 2026. Click here to buy tickets direct.
Paul was given a review ticket by the producer.
Othe critics were not so enthusiastic. Read a roundup of their reviews here.
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – The Musical – review

Is Benjamin Button the British  Musical of the Decade?

★★★★
Two actors Clare Foster and John Dalgliesh sit together smiling in a scne from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Musical
Clare Foster and John Dalgliesh in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Photo: Marc Brenner

You may know the film which starred Brad Pitt. Forget about it. You may know the F Scott Fitzgerald short story on which it was based. Forget about that. Jethro Compton has relocated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to Cornwall in the 20th century and has probably created one of the best British musicals of the past decade.

What’s the story? Don’t be put off if I tell you it’s about someone who is born old and over the next 70 years becomes younger and younger.
Think of it as a grown-up fairy tale or simply an excuse for an evening of rousing folk music about love and belonging.
The multi-talented Jethro Compton wrote the book, the lyrics to the songs, designed the set and directed the show. Talking of the set, it comprises rough hewn timbers salvaged from Cornish beaches that, put together as a floor with ramps and stairs and ropes, segues from streets to a pub to a ship. The story is told by the so-called Strangers, played by the talented ensemble of musician singer actors. Each plays specific parts as required but together they are phenomenal.
John Dalgliesh is the de-ageing hero.  He doesn’t reverse age by use of makeup, he simply carries himself differently. And in theatre that’s all we need, isn’t it? Because he’s different, Benjamin is rejected by his parents , which leads to him being uncertain about his place in society. Time is very much the theme of this musical but so is place, in the sense of where you belong. And, while Cornwall is in the DNA of this show, love is at its centre. Even so, his love story is tentative with many moments in which he retreats, thanks to his lack of confidence.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Photo: Marc Brenner

Elowen is the caring woman who becomes the love of his life. Played by Clare Foster, she exudes warmth. His two children are played by the excellent Anna Fordham and Oonagh Cox.  He has travels and adventures, which take place against the background of major events in the 20th century, particularly the Second World War and the race to the moon.

Along the way, he meets interesting and funny people such as Little Jack, played by Jack Quaron, another person treated with contempt because he is different. In this case, it’s because he appears to be of low intelligence, yet heturns out to possess natural wisdom. But Benjamin’s winding path always leads back to Elowen, where he belongs despite their widening age gap.
It is fascinating to see someone living his life backwards but, while we live our lives from childhood to old age, we are an accumulation of memories that, at any given moment, can take us to any part of our life, so we don’t exactly go forward. And Benjamin’s own experience is very similar to any person who is different, an outcast who needs to find somewhere he belongs, and who eventually fades. Time, which the chorus measures precisely to the second, turns out to be very flexible.
Unlike me, you may find the story too fantastical, too full of coincidences or just a bit thin, but you will love the music, written and arranged by Darren Clark. It has the overall effect of a folk concert in a Cornish pub, underpinning a joyous and moving evening.
The Curious Case of Benjamin is running at the Ambassadors Theatre until 22 February 2025. Tickets from https://benjaminbuttonmusical.com
Paul paid for his ticket.
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Ncuti Gatwa in The Importance of Being Earnest- National Theatre

Sharon D Clarke &  Doctor Who raise Wilde party

★★★

The Importance of Being Earnest. Photo: Marc Brenner

Did you know Oscar Wilde was gay?  I’ll be surprised if you didn’t, but after seeing Max Webster’s production at the Lyttelton, you’ll be in no doubt. His subtle references to the Victorian gay community are circled with a pencil, underlined with a marker pen, and coloured in with  a fluorescent highlighter in this panto style production.

The generous view would be that Mr Webster has turned the familiar classic into a Pride Party. To me it was like saying the Mona Lisa is smiling, so let’s make that clear by painting a big toothy grin over her mouth. Fortunately, Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa and Sharon D Clarke save the day.

We start with a scene in which Ncuti Gatwa appears in a slinky dress in the middle of what appears to be a gay party. Then the curtain goes up on Oscar Wilde’s actual play, but with added text, added gestures and added modern touches.
Whenever Max Webster’s production sticks to the text, it works really well.  The central character Algernon is a kind of proxy for Wilde himself: decadent, amoral and bubbling over with cynical epigrams. Even people who have never seen the play before will probably know some of them, such as ‘In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing.’
Ncuti Gatwa is a very good Algie: cool, laid back, with a mischievous smile, which he often employs in the direction of the audience. He delivers those epigrammatic lines as they are meant to be- clear and confident, defying argument. That he wears colourful tight-fitting clothes and poses like a cat is all we need to suggest a fluid sexuality. But we get a lot more.
His friend Earnest is played by Hugh Skinner projecting the same kind of puppyish naivety he brought to the character Will in W1A. Both the young men have secrets that will inevitably be exposed.
Earnest, whose real name is Jack, is in love with Algy’s cousin Gwendoline. The main obstacle to their marriage is her mother Lady Bracknell who cross examines him for suitability and discovers that he was abandoned as a baby in a railway station in a handbag, leading to the most famous two word line in theatre history.
Sharon D Clarke in The Importance of Being Earnest. Photo: Marc Brenner

With all due respect to other members of the cast, Sharon D Clarke is the saviour of the evening. Her Lady Bracknell is every bit as imperious and formidable as she should be, which of course is what makes her pronouncements about the rules of society so funny. You know the sort of thing: ‘Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever.’ Making the character Caribbean in origin is inspired. Her slight lilt gives extra weight to every word. She is as good as any Lady Bracknell I’ve seen, including the legendary Judi Dench.

Before long, Algy too is in love with a woman, namely Jack’s ward Cecily. The girls have in common that they can only love a man named Earnest. I won’t say any more about how the plot rolls out and resolves, in case you’re unfamiliar with it.
Part of the joy of Wilde’s dialogue is that you are left in no doubt that the young women are physically attracted to the men, and more predatory, without actually saying it. Yet, Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ and Eliza Scanlen as Gwendoline and Cecily respectively are required by the production to make clear their sexual arousal with shuddering bodies and flicking tongues. Gwendoline rolls her eyes and gives the audience lascivious looks, while Cecily talks like Miranda Richardson playing the randy Queen in Blackadder.
Far from trusting the audience to pick up the subtext, bits of business are added throughout. And I’m hard pressed to find one addition that doesn’t actually take away from the play’s effectiveness. Here are some examples. To a list of overdue bills from The Savoy is added Dalston Superstore (a contemporary gay bar). When Algie and Jack come through a door, they are singing James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful. Faced with having to ask Lady Bracknell for help, Jack mutters ‘crap’. The celibate Canon Chasuble and Miss Prism, played with gentle affection by Richard Cant and Amanda Lawrence, won’t admit they are attracted to one another. Their skirting around the subject is what makes their relationship amusing, not Canon Chasuble hiding an erection under his hat, which belongs in a 1970s farce. When volumes of books which each cover a letter of the alphabet are picked out, the first three are G A and Y. Subtle it ain’t.
I’m fully at ease with modernising classics. It can breathe new life in them, it can add to our understanding of them. And I also think it’s great that we should honour Oscar Wilde as a gay man who courageously exposed Victorian hypocrisy and was persecuted for it. I like challenging work but, frankly, this production does Wilde and the audience – even non theatregoing Whovians- a disservice by seeming to treat the play as if it’s too subtle for its audience to appreciate.
This production is running over Christmas which may explain the decision to turn it into an adult pantomime. In fact, it’s great fun if you ignore the assault on the play. There’s even a panto style walk down in which all the cast wear glittering sexy costumes and enter to beat music, encouraging clapping along rather than applause.
By the way, all the dazzling costumes and the sets, designed by Rae Smith, are fabulous. They are recognisably Victorian  within a false proscenium arch, so the design pays homage to the style of a late Victorian stage play while using bright light and colour to open it up, in a way that the direction aspires to but doesn’t.
Oscar Wilde triumphs despite the production, thanks to Ncuti Gatwa, Hugh Skinner and Sharon D Clarke doing justice to his witty, perceptive script.
Paul paid for his ticket. He saw the last preview before the official opening night. This review was slightly revised on 2 December 2024 for the purpose of clarification. 
The  Importance of Being Earnest is at the National Theatre until 25 January 2025. Tickets from nationaltheatre.org.uk
Read the roundup of other critics’ reviews here.
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Witness For The Prosecution at County Hall – review

It’s a Mystery why Witness For The Prosecution is a Success. Here are the Clues

★★★

Courtroom scene from play Witness For The Prosecution at County Hall
Witness For The Prosecution at County Hall. Photo: Pamela Raith

It’s been on since 2017 but somehow I never quite got round to seeing Witness For The Prosecution. To be  honest, there was a little bit of prejudice involved. Partly, much as I enjoy an Agatha Christie novel, I have seen her plays before and found them a little stilted. Secondly, it seemed a bit gimmicky to be presenting the play in the old County Hall. The mystery is, it works. So, I’ve engaged my little grey cells and I think I’ve solved the mystery of why it’s a success.

The first clue is the venue. County Hall, near Waterloo, and by the Thames, is a magnificent building. It was the home of the old London Council. Just entering is a stunning experience. The auditorium for Witness For The Prosecution is the former debating chamber. Consequently, it has very comfortable seating, with a terrific view- you wouldn’t expect anything less for the politicians running the capital city. It’s almost worth going to see the play just to sit in the chamber.

Although you can regard setting the play there as a gimmick, it may be more generous to call it ‘site specific’. The important thing is, it works. That’s partly because the auditorium has the grandeur you associate with the Old Bailey, where most of the play is set, and partly because the layout of the chamber with two sides facing one another matches the adversarial nature of a court case, which is the main subject of the play.

Then there’s the play itself. It starts with a scene in the chambers of a defence barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts. This seems to confirm your worst fears. In 1953, when Agatha Christie wrote Witness For The Prosecution, theatre was changing- it’s the same year that Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot premiered, and three years before John Osborne‘s ‘kitchen sink’ drama Look Back In Anger opened- both of which are being revived in the West End this year, by the way. But the style of this play looks backward rather than forward. The people are middle class, and  everyone speaks as they ought to, rather than as they would. The dialogue is like any standard so-called ‘drawing room’ play- or film- from the early part of the century.

Then, we are taken to the criminal court. The place where to this day, they still behave like people from the 1950s, or 1850s even.

The clue here as to why Witness of The Prosecution is a success against the odds is in the talent of the creators of this production, director Lucy Bailey and designer William Dudley, to see the potential for this old building as a setting for a play mainly taking place in a courtroom. Chris Davey’s lighting is pretty impressive too- emphasising drama and contrast.

And the final clue: Agatha Christie herself. Now her characters may be ciphers, in the sense that they exist purely in the service of the twisty legal drama and don’t have a lot of depth, but the plot is grippingly good. It’s not just a clever story full of mystery and twists (although it is) but it’s also supplied with a lot of realistic detail. Ms Christie studied many court cases and had the help of a barrister to make sure the legal details are accurate.

A man and woman embrace in a scene from Witness For The Prosecution at County Hall
George Jones and Meghan Treadway in Witness For The Prosecution. Photo: Pamela Raith

That helps a lot. But so does her story. We begin with Leonard Vole, a handsome cockerney lad accused of murder. He protests his innocence and we believe him but he is clearly too honest and too naive for his own good. The cast changes every so often but currently George Jones plays him with conviction – sorry, that’s probably an inappropriate word, better to say, ‘convincingly’. Leonard had befriended an older well-off woman who was found dead one evening not long after he had visited her, and it turns out she’s left him her fortune.

It’s a challenge to defend him but Sir Wilfrid, with humour and a degree of arrogant self confidence, decides to take on the case. Oliver Boot nails the role and dominates the stage, as he should.  Sir Wilfrid and Leonard’s concerned solicitor Mr Mayhew, played by Ewen Cummins, subsequently discuss the case with condescension, patronising humour, and a dash of misogyny.

And the case goes well. A benign and predictably stuffy judge Mr Justice Wainwright is played by David Killick with authority and a twinkle in his eye, as he watches Sir Wilfrid run rings around the exasperated prosecution lawyer Mr Myers, played by Gyuri Sarossy who keeps bouncing back like a punch drunk fighter. He destroys witness after witness including the forensic scientist Dr Wyatt played by Nicholas Chambers, and the vindictive housekeeper Janet MacKenzie, given an scene stealing turn by Veronica Roberts. Finally, Leonard’s wife appears as a witness for the prosecution and, under oath to tell the truth, demolishes Leonard’s alibi. It’s a bravura performance by Meghan Treadway.

Why has she done this? The second act reveals all.  And you realise as twist follows twist just how much Ms Christie has misled you, maybe even taken advantage of your expectations of a traditional ‘drawing room’ play. You see that, dammit, just like the people who meet her character Miss Marple, you’ve underestimated the Queen of Crime.

It turns out to be a very satisfactory evening, well put together, well acted and well produced in a striking venue. Mystery solved.

Witness For The Prosecution can be seen at the County Hall in London for the foreseeable future.

Paul paid for his ticket.

Click here to watch this review on the YouTube channel Theatre Reviews With Paul Seven

 

 

I hope…

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Imelda Staunton in Hello, Dolly! – London Palladium – review

A chorus line dance in front of a backdrop of Yonker New York in the nineteenth century as part of the London Palladium production of Hello, Dolly! August 2024
Imelda Staunton and the cast of Hello, Dolly! Photo: Manuel Harlan

It’s a legendary show from the Golden Age of Musicals. It’s one of the most successful shows of all time in terms of awards and performances. Yet (whisper it) Hello, Dolly! isn’t very good.  Michael Stewart‘s book comprises a ludicrous plot and is saved only by the amusing machinations of its main character.  Jerry Herman contributed hardly any memorable songs except the title number and Dolly’s other great song Before The Parade Passes By. Worse, the score also features the execrable It Only Takes A Moment.

Its greatness lies in two redeeming features: the opportunity to put on magnificent chorus numbers, like Put On Your Sunday Clothes (which I admit has a nice hook) and the title number; and providing a vehicle for a female musical star to shine. Fortunately, if a production can get those right, that’s all it needs. And this new production, directed by Dominic Cooke who was responsible for the National Theatre’s legendary Follies, does get it right.

For a start, it is a sumptuous production in the great tradition of the Golden Age. The large London Palladium stage is not only packed with people, it is filled with Rae Smith‘s set and costumes that conjure up the glamour of the end of the nineteenth century. Among its delights are a conveyor that stretches the width of the stage and creates even more movement, a full-size train that is jaw-dropping in its execution, and an enormous staircase to accommodate the arrival of Dolly for her big number.

The choreography was originally by Gower Champion, who wowed Broadway and gets a credit to this day.  Bill Deamer is named as choreographer of this production, and his chorus numbers are magnificent in their scale, co-ordination and vitality. There are something like three dozen members of the company but, in case you’re wondering, there’s not much opportunity for individual brilliance on the dance floor.

Imelda Staunton in Hello, Dolly! Photo: Manuel Harlan

Then there’s the star. Carol Channing first played Dolly, the matchmaker and all-round entrepreneur, to massive acclaim. Since then, many top musical stars have added it to their cv, including Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Pearl Bailey, Bernadette Peters and of course Barbra Streisand in the film version. Can any have bettered Imelda Staunton? I don’t see how. She has a great voice that hits the back of the circle when it needs to, but also an ability to plumb a depth of pathos you didn’t even realise was there in a potboiler song like Before The Parade Passes By. Plus she injects the whole proceedings with a level of energy that could single-handedly power the government’s new Great British Energy company.

Fans of her film and television work would probably have no idea of her ability as a singer, but she has played the Baker’s Wife in Into The Woods, Miss Adelaide in Guys And Dolls, Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Sally in Follies, Gypsy Rose in Gypsy, and now Dolly Levi. All triumphantly. Only Mame remains before she has a full house of the great musical roles for mature women.

She is supported by a strong cast but the characters don’t give them much to get their teeth into.  In fact, the term ‘character’ may qualify as misinformation. Andy Nyman is an excellent actor but as Dolly’s prospective husband, the rich but miserable Horace Vandergelder, he has little to do except be irascible while his suitor draws him into her web. The same goes for Jenna Russell as Irene Molloy, Dolly’s friend who has her own romantic ambitions: she does what she does very well but she hasn’t much to do. Irene’s romantic interest Cornelius Hackl is a traditional (for which read ‘cliché’)  ‘juvenile lead’, with little to do except look pretty and behave cheekily. Harry Hepple handles the role well. Their friends Minnie Fay and Barnaby Tucker are supposed to be the comical parts but remain resolutely unfunny despite the Olympian efforts of Emily Lane and Tyrone Huntley.

With due respect to all of company and creative team, the evening belongs to Imelda Staunton.

Hello,Dolly! can be seen at the London Palladium until 31 August 2024. Click here to buy tickets from the theatre

Paul paid for his ticket.

Click here to watch this review on the YouTube channel Theatre Reviews With Paul Seven

Click here to read a summary of other critic’s reviews of Hello, Dolly!

 

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Mnemonic – Complicite – review

More than a trip down memory lane


★★★★

Theatre de Complicite’s Mnemonic at the National Theatre. Photo: Johan Persson

Even now, as I reconstruct my memory of Complicité‘s Mnemonic in order to write this review, it has changed from my instant reaction after the show. Which is only right. This is a play about how memory works, the way it is constantly revised by new experiences, how it is vital for imagining the future.

But it’s more than a trip down Memory Lane: it’s a trip across Europe and a journey 5000 years into the past. It becomes a search for origins, and shows how our past, both personal and shared, informs where we are now and where we might go.

When I came out of the Olivier auditorium at the National Theatre, I was feeling I’d seen a familiar but nevertheless impressive use of mime to tell interesting but fairly simple stories. Now, I feel I saw something hugely important. Why the revision? Partly it’s because I’ve thought about it, but also it’s because the ongoing riots in Britain, which seem to be triggered by a desire to defend a vision of the past against change blamed on immigrants, have reminded me how Mnemonic is not an academic exercise but an examination through theatre of a contemporary issue that will affect all our futures.

I’m sure you know but, just in case, a mnemonic is any device or trick we use to jog our memory, from tying a knot in your handkerchief to using the first letters of words in a phrase to remind you of a sequence. For example: Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain for the colours of the rainbow. This production of Mnemonic itself could be a mnemonic for those who saw the original and are taken back 25 years to what will now be a memory revised by the intervening years and this reimagined version.

In the intervening years, Complicité‘s techniques have come to seem less experimental, some are even commonplace. Few West End musicals are as naturalistic as they once were: they expose how the show is constructed, they use mime. But the book usually takes precedence. Very few productions give equal weight, as Complicité do,  to every aspect: sound, light, set, props and the actors’ bodies in what you might call ‘total theatre’ to tell their stories, with text simply the starting point.

We start with a bare stage and a chair. In the style of a rambling comic, a man  gives an introduction to the physiology of memory: how each new memory draws on and changes our existing memories (thanks to the hippocampus since you ask). We are invited to put on an eye mask and remember our past, then imagine being a child with our parents and their parents and their parents’ parents, going back through 5000 years at which point everyone on the planet is one of our ancestors which relates neatly, too neatly perhaps, to a recounting of the real life discovery of a human body frozen in the Alps for 5000 years, the so called Ice Man.

Parallel to this is the story of Omar whose girlfriend Alice has left him abruptly to search across Europe for her long-lost father. Cue many fragmentary adventures on a journey which she remembers and recounts, possibly unreliably. In a bravura performance by Eileen Walsh gives a bravura performance as Alice, increasingly frantic and riven with grief, ploughs her way through the diaspora of Jews, Greeks, Arabs and more who have spread across the world to escape danger or find a better life. It seems we are all migrants or the descendants of migrants, and may yet migrate ourselves.

The many possibilities of her ancestry are laid on thickly but show the futility of latching onto one past when you have an almost infinite number, all of which inform your present and, most importantly, your future. The determination to cover so much ground in Alice’s story makes it hard to get involved but it is told with the verve that Complicité are famous for. In particular, there is a moment when her money is stolen, and the memory of someone bumping into her is repeated and repeated, with variations, until finally we see exactly how she was robbed.

A stand out performance from Khalid Abdalla

The tale of the 5000 year old Ice Man was also, on the surface at least, an origins story rather that one obviously about memory. In the gradual development of the archeologists’ understanding of who he was and how he died, we do see an analogy of how memory works. In a wonderfully satirical moment, the scientists are shown sitting in a row at a conference, each imposing their own beliefs onto their interpretation of the scanty evidence that has been uncovered- so the Ice Man is said to have been a shaman, a trader, a hunter and so on.  More than that- and it’s rare that Complicité works only on one level- there is the implication that as our common ancestor, he is all the things we are.

At a time when politicians, populists and owners of social media use fear and division to their own ends, it is a good moment to speak up for our common humanity and the way all history flows into each of us and out again.

Mnemonic at the National Theatre. Photo: Johan Persson

But it would be pure didactics without Complicité‘s outstanding way of creating theatre to convey the stories. A bed, a table, a couple of chairs are all that was needed most of the time in Michael Levine‘s spare set. Dialogue is echoed, movements repeated, actors flow around the stage like migrants might flow around the world. A seemingly simple chair transforms into a puppet that takes the last steps of the Ice Man before he died.

At the climax of the evening, the various characters follow one another faster and faster round the stage, as if in a vortex, in which their individuality becomes blurred.

You can imagine this is no walk in the park for the actors. Nearly all are required to take on multiple roles, but also to mime and move with precise choreography. Tim McMullan is tremendous as a senior archeologist full of wonder, humour and enthusiasm. Richard Katz, Laurence Laufenberg, Kostas Philippoglou and Sarah Slimani are all superb.

But the stand out performance comes from Khalid Abdalla, whom you might recognise as Dodi Al Fayed in the TV series The Crown. He plays both Omar, falling apart as he misses Alice, and the Ice Man, picked apart by archeologists. In both roles, he spends much of his time naked, because that’s how the corpse was discovered, and because that’s how Alice likes to see Omar. In both cases, nakedness seems to become a symbol of humanity stripped of all defences and pretences. Without clothing, they are not part of a tribe or a profession or any group, they are Everyone, at either end of 5000 years. Just as the Ice Man is at the mercy of scientists, journalists and nationalists, so Omar’s future is subject to Alice’s wishes.

All of which may seem a long way from memory, or indeed a mnemonic, but what Complicite‘s artistic director Simon McBurney has pulled together, in collaboration with the company, is a piece of pure theatre- in the sense that it would not work as film or any other art form- that evokes how memory of the past is reformed in the present and gives us the possibility of moving forward together. What better way than through the shared experience of theatre to feel our common humanity? My memory says that, despite its weak stories, I witnessed something very special.

Mnemonic can be seen at the National Theatre until 10 August 2024.

Paul paid for his ticket.

Click here to find out what other reviewers said about Mnemonic, its average rating, and its Value Rating.

 

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Reviews Roundup: Starlight Express

Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, London

A line of roller-skating actors in a scene from Stalight Express at the Troubadour Theatre London
Starlight Express at the Troubadour Wembley Park. Photo: Pamela Raith

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express is back, and this time it’s a new production in The Troubadour, a warehouse-like venue that has been transformed into an immersive space. It’s the tale of a children’s train set come to life, and underdog Rusty being inspired to win a race with other engines. It may sound like a children’s show but the lively songs and roller skating cast provide plenty of adults to enjoy. Most, but not all, reviewers liked it, some loved it. It was generally agreed to be a spectacular production.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

Dominic Cavendish in the Telegraph (5★) was so knocked out by this production, he saw stars, five of them. It’s a ‘head-spinning wonderland’, ‘jaw-dropping’, ‘part theme-park ride, part theatrical revolution’, he enthused, with ‘much magic and life-affirming meaning’. He ended, ‘The energy and bravura of it all are frankly out of this world.’

Paul Vale for The Stage (5★) also gave full marks: ‘(Tim) Hatley’s design is a fusion of industrial brutalism and disco chic, with a racetrack that weaves around the auditorium with ramps, tunnels and a revolve. Gabriella Slade’s sculpted costumes are a meticulously constructed mix of colourful body armour and Lycra that reflect each character.’

The Daily Mail‘s Patrick Marmion (4★) proclaimed, ‘This eyeball-scorching, ear-blasting revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s train-racing musical-on-roller-skates is an audio-visual blitzkrieg, the like of which I’ve never seen before.’ Arifa Akbar in The Guardian (4★) was impressed: ‘tailor-made for the Troubadour’s massive auditorium, it erupts like a Vesuvius of light, sound, projection and dry ice under the direction of Luke Sheppard’. The songs, she said, ‘are masterfully sung all round, alongside the athletic feats of the cast.’

The Independent‘s Tim Bano (4★) confessed, ‘It’s more spectacle than sense, an extraordinary creative onslaught, with songs about steam engines cranked out at max volume, all designed to delight your inner child – which it really does.’ He expanded, ‘Everything about it is maximalist. Tim Hatley’s set has ramps and revolves and sliding doors, costumes by Gabriella Slade turn humans into Transformers/Power Rangers/living cartoon things.’

‘Starlight Express is possibly one of the world’s most bizarre musicals,’ declares Aliya Al-Hassan at Broadway World (4★). Nevertheless, ‘The auditorium itself feels like being thrown into the middle of an arcade game’ and she concludes, ‘As a theatrical experience, this will make a life-long impression on many young theatre-goers’.

Marianka Swain for LondonTheatre (4★) sounded like she needed to breathe into a paper bag: ‘the actors playing trains whizzed right past me on roller skates at heart-pounding speeds. But that’s just the beginning of this mind-blowing state-of-the-art experience.’ She continued, ‘This tech-wizard production also boasts the biggest lighting rig I’ve ever seen in theatre, and a phenomenal display from Howard Hudson’ and concluded, ‘It’s an awe-inspiring stadium gig-meets-theme park ride of a show’.

The Times’ Clive Davis (4★) thought it was a great show for children: ‘The director Luke Sheppard moves things along at a gallop.’

Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski (3 ★) admitted, it’s ‘a lot of fun and has no aspirations to be anything other than exactly what it is.’ ‘It is technically dazzling,’ he added. Dominic Maxwell in the Sunday Times (3 ★) summed up: ‘mostly catchy songs, a crack cast, choreography and design let the trains take the strain of anything so tedious as rational thought.’

There’s always someone who’ll throw leaves on the line, and on this occasion it’s Fiona Mountford at the i (2★) Among the many things she disliked was the way ‘Large video screens pump out irredeemably naff 80s-style graphics’. She was left in the sidings by the production: ‘this slick but soulless show left me none the wiser’

Critics’ Average Rating 3.9★

Value rating 38 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)

Starlight Express is at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre until June 2025. Click here to buy tickets direct from Troubadour Theatres

If you’ve seen Starlight Express at the Troubadour, please add your review and rating below

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