All credit to director Adam Penford and the terrific cast for restoring the play back to the canon, and, in the intimacy of the Park Theatre, it now looks like an honest portrait of gay life and a period of time, when being in the closet was the only option many gay men saw as a means of survival.
And the company, all giving their energies for a song and dance, make this the wonder it is: a rollicking night out, and also a landmark in the development of another great British musical theatre writing team. Where will they go to next?
Girls is confrontational without becoming prosecutorial, heartfelt without becoming unbelievable. With powerful writing and equally strong performances, Girls is a must see production this autumn.
Musically, this is a serious work, that demands a lot of its listeners; but it repays handsomely in its dramatic and aesthetic effects.
The Libertine is an enjoyable, but rather unfulfilling play. The Earl of Rochester is an intriguing figure, and Dominic Cooper’s is a witty and energetic portrayal. Yet in spite of the high calibre performances and tremendous dialogue – I lost count of the number of phrases I felt “I must look up” – The Libertine is a rather aimless piece. For all the philosophising and avarice, at its heart are two incongruously conventional romantic narratives. In spite of good performances by Ophelia Lovibond and Alice Bailey Johnson, these fail to draw complete conclusions about Rochester’s desire to love himself and others, and reconcile how such a passionate man could let his thirst for life slip away like so many empty carafes.
There really is no infrastructure in Ireland for making work of this kind, which makes the achievement all the more striking. Everyone has another job, or two, and time has to be snatched to rush away from other responsibilities to do this job. Yet, there they all are, sticking together, helping each other along, and making something really rather lovely happen.
Nevertheless, this is another creditable creation from the production stables of Sasha Regan and underlines her continuing commitment to the development of new British musical theatre. Very much worth your serious consideration, which it will repay by pleasing and charming.
Cadogan Hall brought a lavish concert performance of the piece to its stage, and – once again – we saw and heard just why we should value this work amongst the highest achievements in the musical theatre. It is simply breath-taking. Indeed, freed of decor and costume, lighting and choreography, and of all the pageantry of the theatre, when exposed to the forensic inspection of the concert platform its virtues come across even more strongly.
