Tag Archives: Allegra Marland

A Voyage Around my Father

A Voyage Around my Father

★★★

Cambridge Arts Theatre

A VOYAGE AROUND MY FATHER at the Cambridge Arts Theatre

★★★

A Voyage Around My Father

“This production is as cosy as a Sunday afternoon TV period drama”

It is over fifty years since this play was first performed and the celebrity status of its author, John Mortimer, has surely waned. The size of this first night audience, however, suggests that he is still fondly remembered by many.

In a role played in the past by Olivier and Guinness, Rupert Everett triumphantly takes on the role of Father. The blindness, of which he will never speak, comes upon him with a blinding flash and a percussive explosion. From then on, Everett shows brilliantly his lack of sight by fumbling for a teacup, tapping his stick to find his chair, and displaying a disturbing blank stare into nothingness.

Ever by his side is his devoted wife (Eleanor David) whilst the Son – or Boy as his parents call him – is kept mostly at a distance. The primary story is that of the Son, confidently portrayed by Jack Bardoe. Narrated by him, linking scenes that take us through his school years – dressing down into short trousers, blazer and cap – following his father into a career in law and taking his first steps into married life. Of the Father, we see him promenading his garden, inspecting the flowers via a spoken description from whomever is nearest. There is a hit-and-miss running gag about counting earwigs. The Father’s blindness keeps him distant and aloof. He is irascible, prone to outbursts and provocative to those closest to him.

An excellent supporting cast is confidently moved around the stage by director Richard Eyre but the short scenes rarely involve more than a handful of characters at one time. Julian Wadham’s declamatory school Headmaster and Calum Finlay’s school pupil Reigate are cameo performances worthy of mention. Two scenes – both with echoes of wartime – fall somewhat flat. Perhaps the poignancy of one and the humour of the second have been lost to time. Everything lifts again with the arrival of the sparky Elizabeth (Allegra Marland), soon to be married to the Son despite the misgivings of the son’s Father.

The predominantly bare set (designer Bob Crowley) is a beauty. Images of thick green foliage, the sun hazily glinting through the leaves, evokes the halcyon days of summers gone by. This production is as cosy as a Sunday afternoon TV period drama. There is much to be enjoyed, particularly in the performances of Everett and Bardoe, but little of any relevance.


A VOYAGE AROUND MY FATHER at the Cambridge Arts Theatre

Reviewed on 17th October 2023

by Phillip Money

Photography by Manuel Harlan

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Frankenstein | ★★★★ | October 2023
The Shawshank Redemption | ★★★ | March 2023
The Homecoming | ★★★★★ | April 2022
Animal Farm | ★★★★ | February 2022
Aladdin | ★★★★ | December 2021
The Good Life | ★★ | November 2021
Dial M For Murder | ★★★ | October 2021
Absurd Person Singular | ★★★ | September 2021

A Voyage Around my Father

A Voyage Around my Father

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Cyril’s Success – 3 Stars

Cyril's

 Cyril’s Success

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed – 5th February 2018

★★★

“the production could benefit from the addition of perhaps some small details to better signify a location change”

 

Finborough Theatre marks its building’s 150th anniversary with a selection of the best plays from 1868. The first of these is Henry J Byron’s Cyril’s Success, presented by Marooned Theatre and directed by Hannah Boland Moore. In this Victorian comedy drama we see playwright, Cyril Cuthbert, at the start of what appears to be a thriving career. However, it soon becomes apparent that his marriage may suffer as a result and his wife, Catherine, is not best pleased to learn he has not only forgotten their wedding anniversary, but that his heart may, in fact, have wandered astray.

There are some laugh out loud moments scattered throughout the production and, overall, the humour appears to be relevant for a modern audience. Much of this comes from Miss Grannet (Susan Tracy), the schoolteacher whose day-long marriage twenty two years earlier has left her bitter and with a loathing for husbands. Cyril’s friends Mr. Pincher and Titeboy, played by Stephen Rashbrook and Lewis Hart, prove an entertaining duo, with Hart’s jittery Titeboy producing numerous laughs. Isabella Marshall captures Cyril’s wife’s dismay in the face of her marriage predicaments well and gives an engaging performance throughout the play.

The intimate performance space above the Finborough Arms pub is used relatively well, with furniture and props in keeping with the Victorian era. The action of the play takes place in four locations, but there is nothing used to mark the changes of location within the set. The space is undeniably too small for numerous set changes, but the production could benefit from the addition of perhaps some small details to better signify a location change. In this way, the set has a lot of potential and it would be interesting to see what could be done in a larger space.

Last performed to London audiences 127 years ago, Cyril’s Success is a humorous play that may lead you to wonder what other period pieces are waiting to be rediscovered.

 

Reviewed for thespyinthestalls.com

Photography by Scott Rylander

 

Cyril's

Cyril’s Success

Finborough Theatre until 20th February

 

 

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