Good People

Noel Coward Theatre, London

****

Written by David Lindsay-Abaire

Directed by Jonathan Kent

Imelda Staunton

Good People is a searching drama for the modern age. Jonathan Kent directs the London premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2011 Tony-winner that explores the two faces of America’s Dream with a nod too to some of that country’s greatest 20th century literature.

With the first half of the action set squarely on the wrong side of South Boston’s tracks, the play follows a few days in the life of Margaret, a “Southie” all her life and a middle aged single parent who has cared for a severely disabled adult daughter since birth. Her daughter’s demands have denied Margaret the ability to hold down steady employment and the play opens with her being fired from her supermarket cashier's job. Desperate for work she tracks down Mike, a childhood friend and now a successful doctor and amidst banter with her bingo hall buddies and an intriguing past with the doctor, so Lindsay-Abaire’s tale pans out.

The star turn of the play is Imelda Staunton's Margaret. She and Kent have previous form together (he directed her Oliver award winning Mrs Lovett in Chichester's Sweeney Todd three years ago) and he coaxes from Staunton a performance of the most marvellously measured mania. Margaret’s lot is a tough one and Staunton never once lets us forget that hers’ is a character that has only known the hard knock life. There is a hint of Arthur Miller's Willy Loman in the story's opening moments as we see her fired, reluctantly, by a supermarket manager who we learn is the son of an old friend. Her tragic circumstances are continuous and whilst Staunton’s performance of a woman, literally on the edge, is sublime and sensitively realised, that so many of the audience laugh at her so often, is actually rather uncomfortable. There’s a distasteful prurience at work here, (Is it really so "blisteringly funny" as the posters proclaim, to laugh at a woman so tragically desperate?) that possibly says more about the chattering classes of the play’s predominantly well-heeled audience, than it does about the painstakingly fleshed-out heroine.

Mike is played by Lloyd Owen. Life has dealt him aces and he has clawed his way out of the South Boston poverty projects through a combination of luck and hard work. He has a complex history however and in his dialogues both with Margaret and with young wife Kate (Angel Coulby) the timing and nuance of all three actors is exquisite. We find that Mike and Kate's marriage is shaky and built on some reluctant compromises and there are moments in act 2, largely set in their beautiful suburban mansion, that echo Edward Albee’s Whose Afraid Of Virginia Woolf.

At the bingo hall Susan Brown and Lorraine Ashbourne put in delicious caricatures of hardened harridans, ultimately loving towards Margaret yet as sceptical as good friends should be. Again, the dialogue between the three women is acutely observed by Lindsay-Abaire, with perfectly weighted performances.

Whilst some of the story’s links may stretch credibility and occasionally the tale’s chapters sit oddly together, what is unquestionable is that each chapter is brilliantly scripted. The text convinces and all the actors are nigh on flawless. Hildegard Bechtler’s ingenious use of the theatre’s revolve also impresses.

Lindsay-Abaire captures the grit of human endeavour, tragedy and deceit in his two hour work. Whether Good People leaves you amused or troubled it will surely make you ponder. The play should not be missed and its outstanding cast will leave you stunned.


Booking until 14th June 2014

The Bodyguard - A New Musical

Adelphi Theatre, London

****

Based on the Warner Bros. Film

Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan

Book by Alexander Dinelaris

Directed by Thea Sharrock



Mark Letheren as Rachel Marron's stalker



The Bodyguard at London’s Adelphi Theatre has been around for almost three months and played this week to a reassuringly packed house on a wintry Thursday night. Alexander Dinelarishas has taken Lawrence Kasdan’s twenty year old screenplay that was embellished with the starring roles of singer Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner as the gun hired to protect her and filleted it down to a staged tale, taking not only a few (modest) liberties with the storyline but also cannily identifying moments along his story’s journey to liberally add in Houston’s hits at any available opportunity. And do you know what? It's a little corny, but it works!

The story broadly follows fictional singer Rachel Marron and her family and entourage and how following the receipt of crazed threats, a skilled bodyguard is hired for the close protection of the star. Any more detail would spoil a good show. If you know the film, expect a few surprises and if you are new to the tale then expect an entertaining ride with a few thrills and spills and the occasional tear too.

The American actress Heather Headley is headlined as starring as Marron. Not so well known in the UK, her Broadway credentials are impeccable. However, it was with a little initial (and short lived) disappointment that we learned that Gloria Onitiri was to take the lead at the performance reviewed here. The cast list states Onitiri as an Ensemble member, yet her detailed bio in the programme describes her as Alternate Rachel Marron. We subsequently learned that she regularly covers for Headley in what is clearly a demanding role. Note to producers : If you regularly have an alternate playing a lead role, then do what Phantom Of The Opera have done for the last 25 years and own up to the fact on your posters and publicity. The honesty does you no harm. Rant over, back to the talent.

Onitiri is quite frankly an unexpected diamond in a glittering show. Her take on Houston’s hits that are sung exquisitely. She was all of rock star, diva, mom and woman-in-love, performed with a gorgeous sound. Her climactic number, Houston's signature hit I Will Always Love You that is an absolute roller-coaster of a song soaring from intimate to epic, was spine tingling. Lloyd Owen as bodyguard Frank Farmer is a turn that is strong and credible. The professional demands of his character demand modest understatement and a performance that is mostly sardonic and laconic. Farmer is allocated few songs in the show (a wise call as a singing bodyguard could well send an audience’s suspended disbelief crashing to the ground) but his rare tuneful moment raises a knowing smile amongst an audience familiar with the tale. The other stunning chanteuse of the night is Debbie Kurup, playing Marron’s sister Nicki. Her delivery of Saving All My Love is exquisite and when she duets with Onitiri, the close harmony work is West End vocal perfection.

Thea Sharrock directs on Tim Hatley’s imaginatively designed set. I suspect the producers have not only an eye on a Broadway opening for the show, but Vegas too, as the classic hits, glitzy sets and not too demanding storyline, will go down well in Nevada’s Sin City. Richard Beadle’s band deliver a very polished and authentic sound ( the delicate guitar lead in to I Will Always Love You was a joy) and for a night of top production values in song and dance, The Bodyguard is another shining example of what makes London the theatre capital of the world.

 

Booking until September 2013