Jack and Sarah by Duncan Abel based on Tim Sullivan's film, The Mill at Sonning, Reading | until 14 June 2026 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review by William Russell

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Jack and Sarah

by Duncan Abel based on Tim Sullivan's film

The Mill at Sonning, Reading | until 14 June 2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review by William Russell

“The perfect after dinner show – will go down a treat.”

There are horses for courses and frankly this is not a horse I would wish to ride but Duncan Abel has taken Sullivan's 1995 film starring Richard E Grant with its supporting cast today's national treasures, although they were not that then, and, helped by a terrific performance from George Banks as Jack, turned it into perfect post prandial fare for the audience at this lovely dinner theatre venue. The film was top of the British box office in 1995 although nowhere else – American critics thought the wrong Grant was playing Jack. His has died in childbirth and left him with a baby daughter. What follows are his comic adventures when he hires a young waitress as his nanny and copes not only with baby but his mother-in-law, his somewhat detached Dad and a homeless man he has given shelter to as well as his lady boss who is keen on bagging him if not on his baby. There is a first-rate set designed by Terry Parsons of Jack's house, which is undergoing renovation, and then the results of that in Act Two and the supporting cast headed by Rufus Hound as the homeless man – we know, of course, that he too will undergo renovation – is very good indeed. The Sonning audience loved it right down to that singing waitress – she comes with a very large guitar – doing a Phoebe out of Friends when she eventually agrees to sing. She gets some truly dreadful songs to warble. One does wonder early on just where social services were given Jack's plight, but reality is not what bites. This is rom com world so sit back and enjoy it. Inevitably the programme suggests the film is iconic, but actually it quite simply is forgotten for good reason which means that lots of people who would enjoy it will have never heard of it. But the mature Sonning audience should be able to drag it up out of their cinema going memories. A rival to Four Weddings and a Funeral it is not but it is often very funny, and the baby is rather cute. Banks endures the trials of fatherhood splendidly and manages to show that he is shattered by the loss of his wife amid the farcical chaos of renovation. Director Abigail Pickford Price keeps the action moving briskly so that one never has time to reflect on what it actually would be like in real life. Enjoy – as you will your food beforehand.

Cast

Lee White – Mat/Alai

Lucy Doyle – Sarah/Anna

George Banks – Jack

Sarah Moyle – Phil/Liizzy

Rufus Hound – William

Neil Roberts – Michael

Anya De Villiers – Amy

Creatives

Director – Abigail Pickard Price

Set Desugner – Terry Parsons

Costume Designer – Natalie Titchner

Lighting Designer – Mark Dymock

Sound Designer – Ella Wahlstrom

Movement Director – Amy Lawrence