Golden Oldies Shine In This Gentle Comedy 

★★★

You’re probably familiar with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The film of that name spawned a sequel and a reality TV show. Now there’s a play of that title currently touring the UK.  Starring are three big names with a long history on stage and screen: Paul Nicholas, Hayley Mills and Rula Lenska. I won’t describe them as old, it’s simply that they’re the same age as old people.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is primarily about retired people and aimed at that market, but there’s no reason why a younger audience (by which I mean people under 60) shouldn’t enjoy it. It’s a story of the triumph of love and hope over adversity.  When I worked in theatre, I remember the midweek matinees were very popular with retired people, so much so that one member of the front of house staff looking from the back of the auditorium at all the white hair, described the audience as the cotton fields. A description I was reminded of when I saw this touring show when it stopped off at Chichester Festival Theatre.

Yes, I am aware that I’m now one of them. So I do know first hand the challenges of getting older, not least of which is the fear of failing memory. And this play doesn’t help, because I found myself thinking ‘I don’t remember some of these characters or sub-plots from the film.’ Well, it turns out it wasn’t a senior moment I was having. Because, despite the title, this play is not based on the film you’ve seen. Like the film, it is inspired by These Foolish Things, a novel by Deborah Moggach. The play is certainly similar  to the film and no worse where it differs.

The shared idea is that a number of retired Brits go to a hotel in India because it’s cheap- oh, and the weather is hotter than good old Blighty. They all have slightly different back stories which are slowly revealed, usually with a twist. Younger generations are represented by a mother and son who have falsely marketed their run-down hotel as being somewhat better than it is. The son is being pressured to marry for money so they can do it up. He would rather marry for love.

It’s as if the play has been fitted with a pacemaker during the interval

The play’s first act gets bogged down in the set-up. The consequence is that it moves at the pace of a 90 year old using a zimmer frame. It probably didn’t help that the actors had a lot of ground to cover on Chichester’s large thrust stage. I took my seat for the second act in trepidation but then the twists emerged and the characters took on new leases of life. It’s as if the play has been fitted with a pacemaker during the interval. And maybe a catheter too as joy, sadness and humour flow in abundance. There’s also a smattering of social commentary too, on India and its call centres and caste system, and on the British attitude to class and to care.

As their characters begin to see more purpose to their lives, the older actors begin to look brighter and move faster, showing that their first half entropy was just an act.

Of the three stars, I found Hayley Mills the most impressive- investing her lines with clarity and urgency- as her character Evelyn came out of her shell. Rula Lenska was full of fizz as the never-too-old-to-have-fun Madge. I was disappointed with Paul Nicholas. He’s a fine actor and portrays the soft-spoken, retiring character of Douglas well enough but he doesn’t quite convince as a grey, brow-beaten husband. The fact is, he’s just too handsome, despite the disappearance of his golden locks, and there’s no concealing his natural vivacity.

The rest of the cast perform well. One of the characters talked of ‘adventure til dementia’ and it is a delight to see these mature actors- Eileen Battye, Richenda Carey and Andy de la Tour continuing to ply their trade and give us a first class example of why old people should not be written off. Of the younger actors, I particularly liked Nishad More as the put-upon Sonny, who displayed appropriate sheepishness in the face of his domineering mother Mrs Kapoor, played with gusto by Rekha John-Cheriyan.

Lucy Bailey directs this large ensemble with finesse and the set by Colin Richmond is just the right blend of the magnificent and the dilapidated. I would have loved to have heard more of the music composed by Kuljit Bhamra which conjured up both ancient and modern India.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is touring the UK with dates annnounced until June 2023 marigoldshow.com

Paul paid for his ticket.

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