Glorious! - Review

Theatre Royal, Windsor

****

Written by Peter Quilter

Directed by Kirk Jameson

Wendi Peters

Some 20 years after it premiered, Peter Quilter’s Glorious has been revived by Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre and is now on tour. Quilter tells us of Florence Foster Jenkins, an American singer who in 1944 and at the age of 76, gave her first (and what was to be her last) concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall. What made Jenkins so distinctive a performer was that she lacked virtually any singing talent whatsoever. And while she may possibly have been well aware of her vocal deficiencies, Jenkins possessed a grit and energy that drove her onwards, either oblivious to, or in defiance of, the cynical naysayers who surrounded her – and presented the most remarkable display of courage and spirit.

Wendi Peters is Florence, in a performance that suggests the very best of Hyacinth Bucket and Norma Desmond as she acts with depth and sensitivity. Incredibly well rehearsed, Peters (herself a gifted singer ) has learned to sing ‘badly’, capturing the gauche naivete of her character while at the same time making her believable and incredibly credible. Such is Peters’s take on the Habanera from Carmen that she imbued the awfulness of Jenkins’s vocal screech with a heart-rending perceptive pathos. Not only that, but the evening’s humour, which by the nature of the story needs to played out in quite a deadpan style, is equally mastered by Peters.

Opposite Peters is Matthew James Morrison as Cosmé McMoon her pianist. The genius of Quilter’s storytelling is to bring out the touching and authentic poignancy of the relationship that evolves between the pair, displaying a mutual fondness that transcends the differences both in their ages and backgrounds.

Sioned Jones and Caroline Gruber complete the cast, playing a handful of supporting roles, but this rather delightful story, gently told and charmingly performed, belongs to Wendi Peters. She really is glorious!

Runs until 21st March, then on tour

Privates on Parade - Review

Union Theatre, London


****


Lyrics and book by Peter Nichols
Music by Denis King
Directed by Kirk Jameson

The Company

With the festive panto season finally on the horizon, why not consider skipping the traditional fairy-tale dames and instead head towards the Union Theatre for a snatch of Simon Green's take on Vera Lynn or Marlena Dietrich in Peter Nichols’ Privates on Parade. Set amongst the British Army in post WW2 Malaya and drawn from Nichols’ own experience, a song and dance unit of British soldiers is tasked with putting on morale-boosting variety shows to entertain the troops posted in the region.

Privates on Parade is very much a piece of its time, filled with wicked jokes and double-entendres every step of the way. The military is famous for its coarse humour and it is essential to context the show to its time when not only racism and sexism were rife, but homosexuality itself was a crime. So while modern day audiences may wince at Nichols’ dialogue, they should never forget his script’s historical accuracy nor its hints of underlying pathos.

Simon Green is superb as Captain Terri Dennis, the company’s leading “lady”. Green’s comic timing is spot on, along with his parodies of Dietrich and Lynn and his gin-swilling charm, irresistible.

There are equally good performances in the ensemble from Matt Hayden as the perfectly mannered, yet emotionally stifled Eric who is the epitome of a 1940's British gentleman while in the choreographed routines Tom Bowen is a joy maintaining an infectious onstage energy whilst playing the butt of continuous derogatory and racist abuse. As the honest and gentle Charles, who accompanies the entire cast on solo piano and thus truly enhances the authenticity of the “troop cabaret”, Tom Pearce is genuinely enchanting.

There are flaws here, with yet again the producers failing to conquer the Union’s unforgiving acoustics. Martha Pothen (the cast’s only female) and Samuel Curry do a convincing job as the leading romantic couple, but their occasional inaudibility makes it hard for the audience to warm to their charming "war-time love" narrative.

The show’s politics may speak of a time long past but Kirk Jameson’s assured direction nonetheless sees Privates on Parade offering one of the finest night’s entertainment currently to be found on London’s fringe.

Runs to 17th December

Reviewed by Charlotte Darcy

Photo credit: Toby Lee