HAPPY END. To June 8.

HAPPY END
by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
Thirsty Dog Theatre Company at Central Space Theatre to 8 June
Tue - Sat 7.15
Runs 2hr 10min. Two intervals.

TICKETS 020 7278 3294
Review Danny Braverman 21 May

Fantastic theatre: raucous, rough, relaxed, direct, unpretentious, celebratory and very, very funny.
A working bar in insalubrious Kings Cross becomes Bill's Beer Hall, the main setting for Brecht and Weill's tale of the fallen Salvation Army angel 'Hallelujah Lil' and her unholy alliance with gangster Bill Cracker. Bill is surrounded by a comically gruesome selection of gargoyle henchmen and Lil by a hapless crew of incompetent evangelists.

And so the story gallops along at a mighty pace and charges towards its hilarious denouement - spiked with just a smidgen of Marxism in its final line to keep us on our toes; 'Robbing a bank is no crime compared to owning one'.

From the moment you queue outside for a ticket (in the rain, if you're as unfortunate as I am) you're assailed by playful larger than life characters, insistent that you have a good time. Gil Kolirin, as Sam 'Mammy' Wurlitzer cements the company's complicity with its audience as a brilliant and brassy master of ceremonies. Alasdair Harvey creates a wonderfully brooding edginess as the pragmatic crook, Bill Cracker and the supporting cast all delight with wickedly quirky performances.

In a production with so much unity and coherence it seems invidious to single out one talent, but Tracy Wiles as Lil is a shining presence. She has a remarkably intuitive understanding of popular theatre; she plays comedy with a light touch and sparkle, melodrama with integrity and seriousness and delivers a song with poignancy and deft musicality. Her beautiful rendition of the classic Surabaya Johnny is, as the saying goes, worth the entrance price alone.

So, hats off to up and coming director Daniel Ghossain for this tremendous feat. If you want an antidote to some of the earnest and passionless fare served up in the name of theatre, check out this hearty feast. This is a production that deserves to reach the widest audience possible.

Bill Cracker: Alasdair Harvey
Sam 'Mammy' Wurlitzer: Gil Kolirin
Dr Nakamura, 'The Governor': Lobo Chan
Jimmy Dexter, 'The Reverend': Tim Barton
Bob Marker, 'The Professor': Giles Oldershaw
Jimmy Flint, 'Baby Face': Leon Felgate
The Fly: Abigail Canton
Miriam: Emma Sterry
Major Stone: Lesley Lightfoot
Captain Hannibal Jackson: Frank Obeng
Lieutenant Lillian Holliday, 'Hallelujah Lil': Tracy Wiles
Sister Mary: Anna Scaife
Sister Jane: Ruth Shearing
Brother ben Owens: Emanuel Brierley
The Cop: Edward Inglis

Director: Daniel Ghossain
Musical Director: Nic Le Breuilly
Sound and Lights: Jackie Jones

2002-05-23 11:26:52