THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH

Malvern Festival Theatre

(Mercury Theatre Colchester, Brian Eastman and Christabel Albery)

Hayden Oakley & Laura Pitt-Pulford

The Smallest Show On Earth, a 1957 British movie starring Peter Sellers and Margaret Rutherford, has been wonderfully adapted for stage by Thom Southerland, Paul Alexander and an incredibly talented creative team and troupe of equally gifted performers. This new musical, with songs by Irving Berlin, is utterly charming and perhaps should be renamed The Sweetest Show On Earth.

The story follows a young scriptwriter and his new wife, struggling to make a success of things in London. They believe their fortunes have taken a turn for the better when they become the unexpected inheritors of a cinema in Sloughborough, only to discover it is on the verge of collapse both architecturally and economically. They decide to nurture The Bijou Kinema back to its former glory with the help of the devoted staff, despite the attempts of their rivals, at The Grand, to ruin them.

Southerland, who also directed the show, has gathered together a superb team of people to make his vision a reality. As well as his costumes, David Woodhead’s set is incredible and so beautifully lit by Howard Hudson’s lighting design. Lee Proud’s choreographer is cheerful, vibrant and brings a fresh dimension to Berlin’s songs with the help of Mark Cumberland’s brilliant orchestrations and Mark Aspinall and his amazing orchestra. Southerland has a real love of creating cinematic atmosphere in his productions and fans of his revival of Mack and Mabel and his more recent Grand Hotel, both at the Southwark Playhouse, will not be disappointed.

The fourteen strong cast are excellent. The stunning Laura Pitt-Pulford is phenomenal and perfectly paired with the adorable Hayden Oakley, as the newly-weds. Both are amazing actors with the most delicious voices and you cannot help but love them both and wish for their 'happily ever after'. Liz Goddard is as lovely as she is funny in the role of the matriarchal Mrs Fazackalee, with Sam O’Rourke giving an endearing performance as her poor, suffering son. Christina Bennington has powerful vocals as the Sloughborough Songbird after replacing the rather theatrically flamboyant solicitor, energetically played by Matthew Crowe.

The only disappointment of the evening was the unbelievably small turnout for this amazing production. It didn’t seem to matter though because the audience loved it and fully showed their appreciation throughout. This musical is nostalgic, romantic, funny, delightful and deserving of much accolade. Go and see The Smallest Show On Earth. It will lift your spirits and warm your soul on a dark, cold night.

5 stars

THE FULL MONTY

Malvern Festival Theatre

(Sheffield Theatres Production)

Oscar winning writer, Simon Beaufoy’s stage adaptation of his 1997 blockbuster British film, The Full Monty, opened to a packed out theatre at Malvern last night. A predominantly female audience buzzed with excitement and anticipation, proving without doubt that sex sells. It always has and probably always will and it is a concept in no way exclusive to the male of the species.

This play is much more than just a bunch of unemployed ex steel workers taking their clothes off to earn money. It is a story about struggle and hardship and the, often unexpected, consequences of enforced change, good and bad. It explores the dichotomy of vulnerability and strength of the human spirit in challenging times. This is Beaufoy’s first venture into playwriting and although it is a terrifically entertaining show, it seems to lack heart. The characters are great and the storyline clear but it is still presented in a screen format, consisting of a multitude of relatively short scenes, which can make it difficult to truly connect and care about each character. In fact, many of the actors get very little opportunity to really establish themselves. This certainly doesn’t seem to effect the audience’s enjoyment of it though.

The large cast is made up of fifteen performers, many of whom appear very little and double up as stage crew for the many scene changes. The plot mostly revolves around Gaz, played by Gary Lucy, who is certainly very pleasing on the eye and has a great energy. Unfortunately, his grasp of a Northern accent isn’t so good and can make it difficult to hear the dialogue at times, particularly at the beginning. This production is also his maiden voyage onto the stage and perhaps placing a novice theatre performer in the lead role of a play by a novice play writer wasn’t the best idea. Having said this, Lucy commits fully to the role and gives his all. Andrew Dunn is superb as Gerald, the gnome loving, white-collar worker who reluctantly becomes the group’s choreographer while hiding his redundancy from his wife. Martin Miller gives a star performance as the overweight stripper with self-esteem issues, Dave, his stagecraft shining through and Rachel Finnegan is very convincing as Mandy. Louis Emerick, Rupert Hill and Bobby Schofield are great as the rest of the troupe and twelve year old, Fraser Kelly, is absolutely fantastic as Gaz’s son, Nathan. Finally, the set, designed by Robert Jones, is phenomenal and works brilliantly to accommodate the action and various settings.

The Full Monty does exactly what it says on the tin. The audience loved it. It’s true to the film, with the same wonderful soundtrack, and doesn’t disappoint those expecting to be titillated. The show is practically sold out for the week run at Malvern Festival Theatre and it was a joy to see a new audience demographic attending live theatre in droves. Long may it continue!

KING CHARLES III

Malvern Festival Theatre

(Sonia Friedman Productions, Stuart Thompson Productions, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Charles Diamond and the Almeida Theatre in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and by Arrangement with Lee Dean)

Robert Powell, Ben Righton & Jennifer Bryden

Writer, Mike Bartlett, recently wowed the nation with the most watched drama series this year, Dr Foster. Over 8 million people tuned in to follow the exploits of the woman scorned. Malvern Festival Theatre’s last encounter with this gifted playwright was the stunning Earthquakes in London and this new tour of King Charles III is equally enthralling. Following a successful run in the West End, this visionary work has won several awards, including an Olivier for Best New Play and last month saw it preview on Broadway. The play gives a glimpse of a possible future, just seven years away, in the weeks following the queen’s death and Charles’ long awaited ascension to the throne. It explores the political and social impact of freethinking within the monarchy, freedom of the press and the right to privacy, with the demands and difficulties of familial duty and expectations.

Robert Powell heads the cast as the future King and is impressive in the enormity of the role. It will be unreasonable to highlight any particular performance though as every single member of the sixteen strong cast are superb in the telling of this very plausible story. The play runs for nearly three hours including interval and is a wonderful homage to Shakespeare’s history plays. Written in iambic pentameter, with soliloquies and comedy to relive the tension, it gives the audience an utterly unique experience of exactly what it must have been like to have witnessed the bard’s work at the time of writing. Directors, Rupert Goold and Whitney Mosery, do an impeccable job with the staging of this epic piece and Tom Scutt’s stunning recreation of the Almeida Theatre is inspired and a beautiful canvas for Jon Clark’s atmospheric lighting design.

King Charles III is remarkable, groundbreaking theatre. It is the most unusual feeling watching a live performance about such familiar people in a future event that isn’t far off and entirely possible. It’s a truly unique experience and unquestionably one worth experiencing.

5 stars