I Loved Lucy - Review

Jermyn Street Theatre, London

***

Written by Lee Tannen

Directed by Anthony Biggs

Sandra Dickinson and Matthew Bunn

Playing at the Jermyn Street Theatre, I Loved Lucy is Lee Tannen's “autobiographical” biography of the final chapters of Lucille Ball's life. An age gap of 40 years separated Ball and Tannen, who had been a devoted fan of America's favourite TV comedienne since his very young childhood. So when Ball's second marriage was, by chance, to bring her into a distant branch of Tannen's family, the young Jewish aficionado was gifted the first chance to meet his (TV) screen idol. From then on, through Tannen's early adult life he was to press ahead with cementing a devoted and enchantingly mutual, loving friendship with the star.

What emerges in Tannen's adaptation of his book, is a heartwarming tale of companionship and backgammon. Theirs may have been nothing stronger than the deepest of platonic friendships, but in an industry famed for superficiality and an obsession with image over substance, what nourished both Ball and Tannen was the sincerity of their fondness for each other. Two of the play's more profound moments are revealed in the second half: Firstly where Ball expresses her fears (and remember that this was the 1980's) that the gay Tannen may succumb to the AIDS rampage;  and later, where having presented the Oscars alongside Bob Hope, she returns home to Tannen expressing her disgust at the fawning she'd received, remembering how when starting out in the business, she’d literally had nothing. Sandra Dickinson, in a remarkable take on Ball, pitches the scenes perfectly

Anthony Biggs directs with Matthew Bunn putting in a hardworking and creditable shift as the Ball-besotted New Yorker. But as the TV star herself, Dickinson steals the show. Her long established TV persona in the UK was derived from playing ditzy blondes. Here, as the supremely sassy redhead and in a sensational performance, Dickinson not only captures the publicly broadcast spirit of Ball, but also offers a convincing and sometimes fascinating glimpse into the star's later life.

Dickinson's performance has to rank amongst the best in town right now. Tannen's witty writing and recollections may occasionally let sentiment blur dramatic impact, but nonetheless this compelling two-hander makes for very entertaining theatre.

Runs until 27th February

The Return Of The Soldier - Review

Jermyn Street Theatre, London

****

Music by Charles Miller.

Book and Lyrics by Tim Sanders

Directed by Charlotte Westenra

Stewart Clarke and Laura Pitt-Pulford

There was a group of students from Mountview Drama School attending on the same night that I reviewed The Return Of The Soldier and they could not have chosen a finer master-class to demonstrate their pursued craft, for this tiny company, five strong, drip with excellence. Charlotte Westenra's production that premieres this troubling WW1 musical, marks another theatrical tribute that respects the centenary of the outbreak of "the war to end all wars".

Laura Pitt-Pulford, an actress whose name on any bill guarantees a classy performance, is Margaret, a barely happily married woman, whose feelings for a past flame of her youth are re-kindled when the dashing former beau inexplicably starts sending her love letters. Stewart Clarke plays Captain Baldry the gloriously moustachioed and patrician officer who captured her heart all those years ago. The tale unfolds and we learn that Baldry has long since married Kitty, a frightfully snobbish debutante, socially way above the common barmaid Margaret and that the Captain has just been sent back from the Front suffering from shell-shock (or PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) The PTSD has erased any memory of his marriage from his conscience, leaving him only to recall and yearn for his long lost love for Margaret. Rebecca West's novel, adapted by Tim Sanders is ripe for the grand sweep of a musical treatment. Pitt-Pulford's layered Margaret is a masterclass and we feel for her character's emotional dilemma, drawn back to the Baldry house (invited actually, by Kitty) to act almost as a "tethered goat" to try and re-kindle the injured officer’s cognisance of the present.

Making her second foray this year into the theatre of The Great War, Zoe Rainey, recently seen in Stratford East's revival of Joan Littlewood's Oh What A Lovely War! evokes both our contempt for her despicable treatment of Margaret, yet also touches a profound note of sympathy as she grapples with a husband who no longer not only recognises her, but burns with desire for his former love. Alongside Pitt-Pulford, Rainey's work is of the highest standard.

Clarke's Baldry is further evidence that this gifted young actor remains one to watch, whilst doubling up as Margaret's humbling bumbling husband William, as well as the manipulative psychiatrist Dr Anderson, Michael Matus is, as ever, excellent. There is a scene in act one where Margaret kneads dough as she talks to William and casting directors take note: a future Sweeney Todd that pairs Matus with Pitt-Pulford would be sensational.

Whilst the talent that visionary producer Katy Lipson, together with Guy James, has assembled is flawless, the same does not hold true for Miller and Sander’s writing. The melodies often fail to satisfy (notwithstanding several moments of pitch-perfect close harmony) whilst the ironic wit of Dr Anderson’s solo number Head Master lacks the incisive bite of Littlewood's near-perfect collection of war satire. As the story’s endgame plays out we learn of childrens' deaths. To lose one toddler in a plot is forgivable, to learn of two such fatalities is downright careless and notwithstanding the ending’s poignancy, the infant mortalities muddle the emotional thrust of the work, detracting from the raw brutal horrors of trench warfare and PTSD.

Flaws notwithstanding, The Return Of The Soldier is a fine piece of chamber theatre, with the cello and piano work of Simon Lambert’s band proving exquisite. In the tight confines of the Jermyn Street’s cockpit it remains an utter privilege to be able to see and scrutinise such an exceptional cast at work.

Runs to 20th September 2014

And In The End

Jermyn Street Theatre, London

***

Written & directed by Alexander Marshall

And In The End, a line in itself taken from The Beatles' song The End, explores the life of John Lennon through his own eyes, presenting him at the pearly gates moments after his murder. Three celestial gatekeepers challenge him to accept that he is now dead and using a take on the Elizabeth Kubler-Ross 1969 book, On Death And Dying, that breaks the grieving process into five distinct phases : Denial; Anger; Bargaining; Depression and finally, Acceptance, they take John through each phase and facilitate his story being told.

The play's mechanism is actually clumsy. The Kubler-Ross book was written to help the bereaved and to project its structure onto the deceased as a character is a flawed pretence from the outset. Thankfully however each of the play's chapters has more of an association with an (accurate) chronology of Lennon's life rather than with an adherence to the clinical five phases, most of which serve as little more than perfunctory introductions to each chapter before being quickly forgotten.

The narrative of the play however provides a surprisingly credible reportage of Lennon's life, from primary school years through to his death and there is much in Alexander Marshall’s meticulously researched text that will be both familiar and also surprising. John's first encounters with McCartney and later, Brian Epstein are fleshed out in pleasing detail. The play explains that Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds was not, as has been oft stated, based on an LSD trip, but rather drew its inspiration from a picture drawn by John's infant son Julian about his little best friend Lucy, with words drawn from Lewis Carroll. Above all, John is presented as a pithy quick-witted joker and it is easy to see from his sharp witty cynicism the incisive mind that would give the world some of pop music's most incisive lyrics.

Valentine Pelka puts in what is mostly a memorable performance as the gifted Liverpudlian. His voice, rimless specs and mop top of hair creating a caricature of such familiarity that in full flow of dialog or more often, monologue, it is not too had to imagine that it is Lennon re-telling his own story. On press night though his performance stuttered, with several line-stumbles. Whilst one has sympathy for an actor performing such a massive stage role, each glitch lowers the fragile basket of disbelief that the play seeks to suspend. One wonders if the producers, who include Marshall,  had perhaps rushed the show to opening, denying it sufficient preview time to bed down? Corners have also been cut in production values with projected backdrop imagery that could be slicker and the sound of Chapman's gunshots clearly being played from a mildly hissy SFX recording. On such shaky stage foundations are an audience's illusions made or shattered.

This is a show that can only improve into its run. Putting its production flaws to one side, the central performance is a cracker and aside from the creaking chapter changes, the text is compelling too. If you like Lennon's work, or The Beatle’s music, you will  find something in the play to enjoy.


Runs to Jun 1 2013