Tag Archives: George Stiles

“Betty Blue Eyes” at the Union Theatre

There’s a big heart and a lot that’s smart behind this 2011 musical from George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The story, based on Alan Bennett’s A Private Function, is full of quirky humour and quaint touches. But the strength of this revival comes from director Sasha Regan allowing space for quiet; Regan makes room for simple pleasures and tender moments.

The story has deliberately silly touches – it’s about a chiropodist and his wife stealing a pig destined to be slaughtered to celebrate a royal marriage…so lots of scope there. Add a mother-in-law, flatulence, and Spam and it’s no wonder there are so many laughs. It all leads to some strong and very funny lyrics. And there’s fun choreography from Kasper Cornish that includes sausages.

Although a period piece the show isn’t trapped in its 1947 setting. The date provides humour, and Reuben Speed’s costume design is good, but concerns about the state of the nation are perennial. Poking fun at patriotism gives the piece some meat.

The score doesn’t quite match the standard of the words but the music is entertaining and well structured. Characterisation is another strength that Regan emphasises. Betty Blue Eyes has a collection of strong parts that the cast work hard with: both Jonny Weston and George Dawes stand out with more than one role. And the show’s villain (a government meat inspector) proves a gift for David Pendlebury.

The leads roles of Joyce and Gilbert Chilvers are ambitious tasks for Amelia Atherton and Sam Kipling who should be proud of their performances. The Chilvers’ marriage is the production’s focus as the couple battle against their own sense of inferiority in the face of class prejudice and rationing. Atherton has strong comedy skills in her matriarchal role and lands a lot of laughs while making sure the Joyce’s snobbery doesn’t alienate an audience.

Joyce has a lesson to learn about the kind of man her husband really is – a topic that is treated tenderly – since Gilbert is an unusual hero. Pushing the character past simply being endearing is the challenge and, with a strong voice and a tear in his eye, Kipling succeeds. This gentle man stands in contrast to brash entitlement and suggests a different view of masculinity and British identity. Big claims and questions might not be what you expect from a show about a roast dinner…and that surprise makes the show crackle.

Until 22 April 2023

www.uniontheatre.biz

Photo by Michaela Walshe

“Half A Sixpence” at the Noël Coward Theatre

The Chichester Festival Theatre’s new version of David Heneker’s musical arrives in the West End trailing rave reviews. And rightly so. Surely some critics were aggrieved that producer Cameron Mackintosh, credited as co-creator, had already bagged the perfect description to promote his work – this really is a “flash, bang, wallop” of a show.

The simple love story of an apprentice haberdasher who comes into money and has to choose between his childhood sweetheart and a once unattainable upper-class lady gives us a pleasingly Pygmalion spin and a hero, one Arthur Kipps, every bit as endearing as Eliza Doolittle.

Arthur may be called Art by his friends, but it is his artlessness that makes him so appealing, genuine and infectiously joyous. Taking the lead has catapulted Charlie Stemp into the big time with a star-is-born moment that theatre goers will find electrifying. Stemp can sing as superbly as he can dance – and he can act, too. In short, he’s the real deal.

Ironically the big achievement of the show, with new music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and a book by Julian Fellowes, is to downplay Kipps’ part. Originally an uneven vehicle for Tommy Steele, the show has been recalibrated to allow the rest of the cast to rise to Stemp’s achievements. Both of Arthur’s love interests are superb. Devon-Elise Johnson plays the love-token-swapping parlour maid with credible vigour. The posh idol, Helen Walsingham, is Emma Williams, and, in a piece where toffs do badly, she’s still appealing, making Arthur’s decision a real dilemma.

Half A Sixpence praises working-class culture in a manner that is out of fashion and makes for a fresh change. Arthur’s colleagues in the shop are wonderfully delineated (praise for Sam O’Rourke, Alex Hope and Callum Train). As for Bethany Huckle’s Flo, Arthur may not fall for her, but I did, with an end-of-the-pier number about sexual frustration that makes the role stand out. This new song, ‘A Little Touch of Happiness’, perfectly embodies a postcard humour that makes many numbers here laugh-out-loud funny, with a sentimentality that magically weaves naiveté and nostalgia. All are combined to perfection by director Rachel Kavanaugh. And this is before the storming second-act number, ‘Pick Out a Simple Tune’, with one cast member literally swinging from a chandelier. What more could you ask for?

It isn’t just the deserving praise already received that gives the show its unbounded confidence. In Kavanaugh’s capable hands, taking a lead from the cleverly constructed new material, Half A Sixpence is akin to a theatrical comfort blanket. We know when to applaud – freeze frame on the action and get ready to clap – and when to give a standing ovation. With the keen-as-mustard cast delighting in its triumph everyone goes home happy.

Until 2 September 2017

www.halfasixpence.co.uk

Photo by Manuel Harlan