10 June – 1 July
Any excuse to recycle a clutch of Cole Porter songs has to be a good one. One could certainly imagine him following up I Love Paris with a similar ode to Rome. However retro-fitting a clutch of classics to a winning love story was always going to be a good bet.
Roman Holiday is an adult fantasy of the ‘Amor Vincit Omnia’ type in which the usual social and cultural boundaries are crossed. This is in the, ‘poor little rich girl’, or as here princess, falling for someone ‘normal’ category. Princess Ann (Rebecca Collingwood) stifled by convention and duty, dreams of being normal for a day, of being able experience life as the common people do. In this outing of the theme your average American reporter is good enough for your average European royal. The hard-bitten reporter falls in love with his potential pay cheque after romping around Rome for a day and a night. However the story is not all sentimental goo for whilst the journalist , Joe (Michael D.Xavier) does the right thing in not selling his exclusive story about the runaway princess, Ann decides to follow the path of duty, thus answering the question the story hints at regarding the tension between duty and personal inclination, confirming that the ‘holiday’ is as much a holiday from reality as much as a sight seeing escape.
Being a stage version of the original cinematic story the play cannot call on the Roman sights to work their romantic magic. Notwithstanding, the usual tropes are there; the Italian love of family and the policeman who goes all soft at the sight of a couple of lovers. After all it wouldn’t be Italy without a poliziotto bending the rules for romance. Then, the worldly journalist is actually a pretty decent bloke and albeit ruled by his heart, does just what the audience is by then hoping.
The lack of a supporting travelogue is balanced by the inclusion of pages from the Cole Porter songbook. The writers have added a chanteuse, Francesca (Tania Mathurin) whose residency at a night spot is all the excuse needed to get the music rolling.
Ms Mathurin takes to Porter with relish and in truth could have entertained us for the full two hours. No less is it the case with Ms Collingwood who sings like an angel and acts with such fulgent assurance that no journalistic heart could fail to be melted.
★★★☆☆ Graham Wyles, 21 June 2023
Photo credit: Ellie Kurttz
