23 – 27 July
Anyone familiar with the Sondheim musical will find this offering, based on the original Victorian play by George Dibdin Pitt and adapted by Jeff Clarke, surprisingly different. To start with, our present version was titled String of Pearls and is based on an earlier ‘penny dreadful’ serialised story.
This is a play of two halves. The first half sets the scene and introduces us to the conventions of Victorian melodrama. Some way through the first half I was thinking how grateful I was that things had moved on. After the initial novelty of the genre wore off – the musical accompaniment that sets the scene, introduces the characters and gives us the odd song – the broad acting style and conventional characters become a little tedious. Although the plot has some complexity the lack of any psychological explanation of the sort we find in Sondheim (and his source by Christopher Bond) makes it difficult for the character of Todd (Nick Dwyer) for example, to draw us in. That said, all the actors, each of whom plays a number of parts, have fun differentiating their various characters. Paul Featherstone gives us a delightfully constipated Rev.Lupin, a sort of cross between Uriah Heap and Quilp which contrasts cleverly with his somewhat louche, Colonel Jeffries.
Another notable difference to the Bond version is the lesser role given to Mrs Lovett (Lynsey Docherty) who is more prominent in her character of Cecily Maybush, the no nonsense housemaid to Mr Oakley (Peter Van Hulle). Again a key character (traditionally a breeches role) is that of Tobias Ragg (Caroline Kennedy) Todd’s apprentice who spills the beans on his master’s bloody sideline.
In the second act there is something of a step change when the actors give up any pretence to authenticity and go for broke on the broad acting style, taking the audience along with them. Todd becomes a pantomime villain, goading the audience into ever more vocal disapproval and the plot takes on a more farcical turn. Confusion reigns as the mechanics of a small company take on a large cast and the show outdoes The Show That Goes Wrong as confusion ensues, seemingly unplanned when characters ask where ‘so-and-so’ is and the actor playing said role, after a few moments of silent mental cog turning, offers to go and fetch them. The actors all looked suitably flummoxed and the audience loved it.
This is early days in the production and I’m sure that with a few stylistic tweaks to address the way the halves fit together the company could have a mighty hit on their hands.
★★★★☆ Graham Wyles, 24 July 2024
Photo credit:Nick Dwyer, Andy Paradise
