Half A Sixpence - Review

Noel Coward Theatre, London


****

New Music & Songs by George Stiles & Anthony Drew
Original Songs by David Heneker
Book by Julian Fellowes
Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

Devon-Elise Johnson and Charlie Stemp

The musical Half a Sixpence bounds into the West End from Chichester, newly adapted by Julian Fellows, with a spring in its step and an infectious grin. The story of Arthur Kipps, a lowly haberdashers' assistant who comes into money but ultimately questions what happiness it brings, is brought to life in a visually beautiful production directed by Rachel Kavanaugh.

The well known 1967 film of the musical (after the original 1963 stage production) was based on the HG Wells novel Kipps, A Simple Soul. In an Edwardian seaside town, Kipps, coming into an inheritance, has his head turned by upper class Helen Walsingham while his heart lies with his childhood sweetheart, scullery maid, Ann Pornick. Kipps & Helen are engaged to be married yet the Walsingham family, the epitome of Edwardian snobbery, only wish to use Kipps for his fortune. Helen tries to "make a gentleman" of her commoner beau but Kipps realises his happiness lies "within his own kind". The script, though full of punchy one liners, is light on heart and emotion.

Fortunately, the staging and choreography is top-notch with an exceptionally talented ensemble singing and dancing faultlessly. Andrew Wright's choreography is full of inventive mannerisms and the energy created is infectious. Flash Bang Wallop at the end of the show is a tour de force bringing the audience collectively to its feet.

Paul Brown's set design, concentric circles of revolving stage, creates a fluidity to the production with seamless scene changes that makes the stage seem vast. From a seaside pier to the ballroom of a mansion, each scene is placed perfectly with artistry, while using the minimum of props.

As Arthur Kipps, Charlie Stemp is glorious. A dancer to the tips of his fingers, he looks totally at ease taking the lead in nearly every number. Charming, committed and cocky, Stemp makes Kipps incredibly likeable. It would be good to see more emotion when in turmoil (this Kipps shows more love for a banjo than any woman) but Stemp commands the stage and was a joy to watch.

Emma Williams is spot-on as the rather unsympathetically written Helen, with perfectly clipped speech, elegant manner and singing that plucks at the heart strings. Devon-Elise Johnson is a delightful Ann, not only singing from the heart but imbuing every line of dialogue meaning. As Ann's friend Flo, Bethany Huckle adds depth and warmth to her supporting female character and her skittish duet with Johnson, A Little Touch Of Happiness is the act one highlight.

Julian Fellowes' script offers more than a nod to his juggernaut TV success of Downton Abbey with his dowagers Mrs Walsingham (Vivien Parry) and Lady Punnet (Jane How). Both actresses relish their scenes, How particularly eliciting howls of laughter with every hilarious line. Perfect for the role, she gives a master class in taking the stage and working an audience.

George Stiles & Anthony Drew's new and additional songs work, for the most part. In the overly long first act, Just a Few Little Things is brilliant, however, some of their new material feels unnecessary. The second half motors along with Pick Out A Simple Tune becoming a modern day classic - it is absolutely the best number seen in this or any show for quite some time.

This is a show that will make you smile. It will make you tap your feet. It will probably make you go home singing on the tube. And that can't be a bad thing.

Booking until 11th Februuary 2017
Reviewed by Andy Bee
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Half A Sixpence - Review

Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester


****



New music and lyrics by George Stiles And Anthony Drewe
Original songs by David Heneker
Co-Created by Cameron Mackintosh
Book by Julian Fellowes
Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

Devon-Elise Johnson and Charlie Stemp

Half A Sixpence headlines Chichester's summer season this year and with Cameron Mackintosh co-producing, it's a rather grand re-working of Beverley Cross and David Heneker's 1963 musical. The original numbers have been reworked by Stiles and Drewe with a few new songs added too, in what is a light-hearted and delightfully dated snapshot of the English class system and its social mores around the turn of the 20th century.

The show remains based on H.G.Wells' novel Kipps: The Story Of A Simple Soul but these days no respectable take on the Edwardian era would dare show its face without Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey's esteemed progenitor, popping up somewhere in its DNA. Fellowes has been dutifully hired to re-write the book and to be fair, he's made a decent fist of it. But with one eye perhaps on a transatlantic export/transfer and the potentially short attention spans of our American cousins, the storyline has been kept tissue-paper thin.

Set in coastal Kent, Arthur Kipps is a humble working class lad who falls in love with the equally lowly Ann Pornick. Upon inheriting a fortune he finds himself escalated to the “above-stairs” world, where a new romance emerges with the wealthy Helen Walsingham. Trials and tribulations follow, before an ultimate marriage to one of his paramours, all played out to a relentless moral backdrop that true love is more precious than material wealth. 

Originally a vehicle for the 1960's idol Tommy Steele who played Kipps, nearly every song featured his character and the reworked show upholds this premise. Charlie Stemp, an actor who has only played featured parts to date, is thrust into his first leading role and he shines. Fine in both movement and voice, Stemp is on stage virtually throughout and truly leads the cast. All of his songs are a delight, however the tender charm of his first half opener (the title song) along with the rumbustious romance of The One Who's Run Away which kicks off act two, display the range of the man's talents.

Devon-Elise Johnson's Ann is an Essex-infused delight. She was first reviewed on this site in 2013 where (as a supporting performer) her starring role potential was clearly visible even then. Johnson is a marriage of cockney charm alongside musical theatre excellence - a highlight being her take on Heneker's Long Ago, a beautifully reflective piece. 

As the quintessentially proper Helen, Emma Williams is, as ever, magnificent. Vocally gorgeous, Williams also offers the evening's briefest of dips into poignant pathos. Offered one of the newer songs to shine in, Believe In Yourself, throughout Williams re-asserts herself as one of the leading ladies of her generation.

Emma Williams and Charlie Stemp

Fresh from playing alongside Williams in Mrs Henderson Presents, Ian Bartholomew turns in a cracking cameo as Chitterlow a writer who more than loosely mirrors Wells himself. Bartholomew has the presence and panache to drive the role along with a particularly corny chapter of the narrative magnificently, bringing an overstated flamboyance that complements the show like a fizzing cocktail and is entirely in keeping with his character.

Downton enthusiasts will love the waspish sparking between dowagers Mrs Walsingham and Lady Punnet (Vivien Parry and Jane How respectively). Fellowes is no fool and has been wise to replicate the acid style of the TV series’ clashes between Maggie Smith/Penelope Wilton, which make for fine entertainment.

Stiles and Drewe's input is a curate's egg. Their contributions to (a lengthy) act one don't compare well to Heneker's original numbers of 50 years ago and if one or two of those compositions were dropped it would be no bad thing. However, after the break, their work is revelatory. Their song Pick Out A Simple Tune is the closest thing to a showstopper seen in new musical theatre writing, offering an anarchic beauty (largely fuelled by Andrew Wright's outstanding choreography) that as each new verse and key-change reveals itself, leaves one wishing the song would never end. It really is that good!

Rachel Kavanaugh's direction is masterful, playing her company well on the concentric revolves of Paul Brown's set. Truly charming, Half A Sixpence is flawlessly performed and well worth a seaside jaunt to Chichester.

Runs until 3rd September
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Taboo - 2013 cast

Brixton Club House, London

****

Book: Mark Davies Markham

Music & lyrics : Boy George

Director: Christopher Renshaw

Jordan-Luke Gage as Marilyn

Chris Renshawe’s site specific revival of Taboo at the Brixton Club House, set an ambitious aim for an off West End production even with its initial longer than usual performance run of three months. That run has itself now been extended to six months, with some cast changes, which speaks volumes for the foresight of producers Danielle Tarento and Bronia Buchanan in staging this still provocative even if mildly, but nonetheless deliciously, dated show. It is thus a delight to re-visit the production to witness not only seasoned performers three months in, but also to observe the latest cohort of freaks to join this outlandish troupe as they perform The Boy George Musical.

The book traces photographer Billy from teenage to adulthood as he discovers his sexuality within the ambivalent and decadent world of the 1980’s London club scene. Billy, his parents and girlfriend Kim are fictional creations, but the people and freaks that they encounter were living cultural icons of their time.  Amongst these real life caricatures, Leigh Bowery was a flamboyant inspiration of the mid 1980’s London club scene. An obese Australian, whose outlandishly made-up visage contributed to the Punk/New Romantic cultural crossover of the times, he is played in the show by Sam Buttery, a finalist from TVs The Voice. A flamboyant Oscar Wilde like creation, we encounter Bowery whilst he cottages and his character’s arc through to an early HIV-AIDS related death, leads to one of the show’s moments of poignant tragedy. With I’ll Have You All, Bowery shocks and laughs as he touches upon the men from all reaches of society who have rented his sexual services, yet with Ich Bin Kunst, (transl “I Am Art”)  he sings honestly and powerfully of his impact upon the world. Bowery’s closest friend of the time was (Big) Sue Tilley, played by Katie Kerr who like Buttery, has been with the run since commencement. Sue’s love and support for Bowery deepens through the story and as her friend finally succumbs, Kerr’s stunning rendition of Il Adore reduced much of the house to sobs.

Phillip Sallon, another key pillar of the gay/club (anti) establishment, continues to be played deliciously and flamboyantly by the talented Paul Baker. Equally at ease in leading the line as he is in engaging with provocative ad-lib banter, Baker is a consummate professional and a talented singer. Petrified, sung prone following a homophobic beating provides another moment of raw human grief that Mark Davies Markham draws into the spotlight of his book.

Amongst the new cast members, Julia Worsley’s Josie, Billy’s mother, gives a powerful performance as a woman ridiculed by her ignorant abusive husband before eventually and very publicly being confronted with her son’s homosexuality. Worsley digs deep for her character and her gut-wrenching Talk Amongst Yourselves proves a highlight of act one. Josie’s self-discovery and re-working of family relationships in the second act are further displays of both the depth and breadth of Worsley’s craft.

Boy George and Billy are played by debutants Paul Treacy and Alex Jordan-Mills. Both performers shine, yet both also suggest that they have more in the tank to offer. Boy George in particular was a keystone character of his era and represents a challenge to any performer. Both these young actors are likely to grow in both confidence and stature as the run continues. Devon-Elise Johnson brings an innocent fragility to Kim, at heart a sweet and innocent naïve thrust into a harsh and freakish world. As she discovers Billy’s betrayal of her and sings Pretty Lies, she displays a set of pipes that belie her age. She is without doubt an actress to look out for.  

Owain Williams’ Steve Strange, a portrayal of yet another ancient icon who was in fact amongst the press night audience, is a small role wonderfully delivered. Williams, who also originated the role in this production, has matured wonderfully over the run and his interaction with his character’s real life counterpart was a delight. Jordan-Luke Gage’s new boy interpretation of Marilyn is an entertaining and accurate depiction that chimed well with those of the audience able to recollect the era.

The show is a technical treat, performed on a catwalk that runs through the Club House bar, with every available inch of space used to tell its tale. It remains a highlight of the capital’s fringe and with its intoxicating blend of outrage, tragedy and biting satirical comedy, continues to be a grand night out in Brixton.

 

Runs to March 31 2013