THE GOOD COMPANIONS To 21 November.
Bristol.
THE GOOD COMPANIONS
by JB Priestley musical dramatisation by Malcolm McKee.
Bristol Old Vic (Theatre Royal) To 21 November 2009.
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat Thu & Sat 2.30pm.
Runs 2hr 40min One interval.
TICKETS: 0117 987 7877.
www.bristololdvic.org.uk
Review: Rupert Bridgewater 5 November.
Feel-good show filled with youthful exuberance
Sue Wilson’s production of The Good Companions is like a glass of champagne: it’s bubbly, bright and lifts the spirit. And so did the original novel by J B Priestley when it was published in 1928. A down at heel nation took to the story of young love, adventure and dreams of stardom and made it an instant hit.
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School stages Malcolm McKee’s musical adaptation to showcase the talents of their final year students and tomorrow’s theatre professionals. And like uncorked champagne the ensemble cast fizzed with enthusiasm. It’s a story of a group of actors who are looking for a new owner.
Jane Horn as the plain Jane Miss Trant, discovers the troupe, grabs her central role and drives it with a whimsical exuberance and impeccable cut-glass vowels across the counties of an England that positively rings with regional accents. We have a disgruntled Yorkshireman Jess Oakroyd, played with cloth-cappish down-to-earthism by Roddy Peters, a Geordie theatre owner in Oliver Hoare grimly sweeping the stage, and a sour-puss Staffordshire tea lady (Alexandra Sorensen) whose scowl makes the bread and butter curl and the tea brew on its own.
Tom Weston-Jones as aspiring songwriter Inigo Jollifant fills the stage with heroic optimism in his pursuit of the dazzling Susie Dean, played with unlimited vivaciousness by a coquettish Katie Moore.
Priestley’s social hinterland of England is spread across Sue Mayes’ evocative map backdrop, bringing to life numerous pubs, railway stations and cafes at the drop of a leather suitcase and the swish of a heavy overcoat. There is a whirl of costume changes and a ripping on and off of moustaches. Here is Jessica Guise as Lady Partlit and there is Charlie Morotn as Nobby. At times confusing, at times extremely funny, as you detect a familiar shape in new clothes, such as Heather Johnson as Big Annie, the uncompromising landlady, or Joseph Drake threatening to beat up the audience.
It was first night so we have the odd glitch, but this a show that will only get slicker. Pass that glass of champagne.
Susie: Dean Katie Moore.
Mr Oakroyd: Roddy Peters.
Inigo Jollifant: Tom Weston-Jones,
Miss Trant: Jane Horn.
with Alasdair Buchan, Alex Morgan, Emily Glenister, Joseph Drake, Eleanor Yates, Matthew Christian-Reed, Jack Bannell, Heather Johnson, Jessica Guise, Oliver Hoare, Alexandra Sorensen and Charlie Morton.
Director: Sue Wilson.
Designer: Sue Mayes.
Lighting: Sanne Noppen.
Sound: Tim Browne.
Dialect coach: Gary Owston.
Choreographer: Gail Gordon.
Bristol old Vic Theatre School’s showcase productions this season continue with Dick Whittington in December; The Tempest in January, The Country Wife in February, and The Comedy of Errors in March.
2009-11-10 00:29:23