★★★

“The whole thing ambles along like a Wolseley 6/90 – reliable, well-upholstered and stately in its way”

To the surprise of a modern audience, the NHS in 1950 apparently afforded a patient a spacious room, a brace of sassy nurses, use of the good stationery and endless weeks of convalescence – all for a broken leg.

Admittedly, the broken leg is attached to a bona fide hero – Scotland Yard detective Alan Grant (Rob Pomfret) who is bothered, bored and self-pitying, having acquired the injury in a failed chase.

At 50, he is staring down the barrel of an enforced retirement. What he needs is a challenge to prove his worth.

It arrives in the form of a postcard of Richard III. Is he the villain of Shakespeare’s imaginings or is he the most wronged monarch in history? Grant begins gnawing on the 400-year-old mystery, dragging in acolytes and helpers who indulge him for reasons that are never entirely clear.

In the meantime, the audience of M Kilburg Reedy’s adaptation of Josephine Tey’s classic novel has their own set of challenges.

Firstly, the staging. The bed which contains our hero is right at the back of the stage. Pomfret does some great head-and-neck acting but there are obvious audibility and distance problems. This timorous cowering becomes so pronounced that the actors appear to have a Pavlovian aversion to entering the 12-foot buffer zone at the front where most other productions would do their best work.

Secondly, there’s a lot to remember. Such is the extent of the exposition, characters end up reading from textbooks, dropping in long speeches about Plantagenet politics (where others might discuss the weather or the cricket) and pinning pictures on boards that we, the audience, cannot see.

The programme comes with a family tree which – what? – we’re supposed to learn before the curtain rises? Cue chilling flashbacks to history exams with cold sweat trickling down collective spines and key dates written in biro on shirt cuffs.

Thirdly, all this takes time. So much time that if you were to see all the plots and subplots laid out as a menu – including some Shakespearean romantic fandango – you might dispense with the minor dishes and opt for the classic main course/dessert combo and get the thing done. But writer Reedy will insist on you seeing the product of her thinking as she tussles with evident problems of staging a history lecture.

All this is not to say director Jenny Eastop’s production is not ultimately enjoyable. Time eases the last two of these problems. In the second act the questions become more focussed – did Richard III usurp the throne, and did he kill the princes in the tower? – allowing for some graspable curiosity to arise. And the problem of length, while not entirely dissolved, becomes less obdurate because the actors are earnest in their commitment to the production and reside in settings and costumes (Bob Sterrett) which are sumptuous.

Rob Pomfret as Alan Grant is solid; Rachel Pickup injects glamour into lovelorn actress Marta Hallard, inexplicably besotted with the curmudgeonly Grant; Noah Huntley has fun with closeted stage darling Nigel Templeton; and Harrison Sharpe – the Shaggy of this Scooby Doo gang – is lithe limbed and kooky as amateur investigator Brent Carradine.

Elsewhere the ensemble is curiously well-briefed about English culture and history but disguise their learning with a straight-faced charm.

The whole thing ambles along like a Wolseley 6/90 – reliable, well-upholstered and stately in its way. If time is not an issue, be assured, you will arrive at your destination eventually.

BEAUTIFUL WORLD CABARETS – ALFIE FRIEDMAN

Charing Cross Theatre

★★★★

“A candid performer, he lets us into his world. His unique personality sets him on a tightrope, yet he is fearless in his performance”

Curated by Janie Dee, ‘Beautiful World Cabarets’ is a series of musical evenings running at the Charing Cross Theatre. Featuring nearly twenty artists, with special guests, eighteen concerts are being intimately performed, ostensibly reflecting the world we live in and focusing on the individual artist’s place in that world. Following on from a season at Crazy Coqs, the series is presented in partnership with the London Climate Change Festival, but we needn’t worry about this limiting the performer’s selection of words and music to explore the topics. The mix is as eclectic as the line-up, and each artist is unique enough to stretch the brief to its limits.

And none come more unique than Alfie Friedman. Following a heartfelt introduction by Dee, Friedman casually, yet assuredly, saunters onto the stage. His three-piece backing band, led by pianist and Musical Director John Haslam, are already in place laying down the jazz, opening chords of Declan O’Rourke’s ‘Galileo’. ‘Who puts the rainbow in the sky?’ he asks during the achingly beautiful number that epitomises Friedman’s take on the evening. ‘Love can make you ask some funny questions now and then’. A mixture of wonderment and angst-filled bemusement, Friedman has the wisdom to know that there are no immediate answers, but also the youthful integrity to explore the impossible questions through a set list that turns this evening into pure entertainment. The repertoire borders on chaotic but somehow it blends into a cohesive song cycle. Who else could segue from Sondheim to Sci-fi in just a few semi-quavers?

In a song list that takes in Rebecca Sugar (‘It’s Over Isn’t It?’ from the Steven Universe Cartoon Network series), Keane’s ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ and an excerpt from Yojiro Ichikawa and Eden Tredwell’s “Galaxy Train” musical, it is Stephen Sondheim that dominates. Friedman is an astute interpreter of his work, exhibiting unrivalled control over the intricacies of the melodies and the nuances of the storytelling. A highlight is ‘Franklin Shepard, Inc’ from “Merrily We Roll Along” with its mix of virtuosity and humour allowing Friedman’s talents and stagecraft to truly shine. He is joined onstage, during ‘Gee, Officer Krupke’ by guest singers Sam Sayan and Eileen MacDonald. Later they each have a solo moment in the spotlight: a gorgeous rendition of Craig Carnelia’s ‘Flight’ from MacDonald, while Sayan weaves his velvet voice around Sondheim’s ‘Being Alive’ from “Company”.

Friedman talks a lot about the world being disconnected. His anecdotal banter is polished, and rehearsed to a tee, but each word counts. He talks with true emotion about the need to re-establish human connection. Up close, we see the concern in his eyes. Janie Dee returns to the stage to enact with him a scene from the critically acclaimed “Laughing Boy” they both starred in last year, which precedes a brief discourse on the tragic real-life story of Connor Sparrowhawk who died in NHS care. Friedman doesn’t preach – he just gets us to think about the issues. Words are projected onto the back wall of the stage. Words that reflect the human condition. ‘What the Hell is my condition?’ Friedman asks, ‘nothing makes sense’. What’s it all about, Alfie? (Apologies – I couldn’t resist it. And, no, he certainly didn’t sing that one). We can all relate to that, but one thing for sure is that he makes sense. And it makes perfect sense for him to be up on that stage showcasing his talents as a singer and raconteur. The world may be disconnected, but Friedman connects with his audience.

We cannot help feeling that Janie Dee’s ‘Beautiful World Cabarets’ will become a regular feature on the cabaret scene. We also feel sure that we will be seeing a lot more of Alfie Friedman. A candid performer, he lets us into his world. His unique personality sets him on a tightrope, yet he is fearless in his performance. Cool and furious at the same time. Skilful and emotional simultaneously. With a voice to match. ‘Who lights the stars at night?’, he sings during the opening number. Way before the closing number he has answered his own question for us.

THE DAUGHTER OF TIME

Charing Cross Theatre

★★★

“The whole thing ambles along like a Wolseley 6/90 – reliable, well-upholstered and stately in its way”

THE DAUGHTER OF TIME

Charing Cross Theatre

Reviewed on 25th July 2025

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Manuel Harlan

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

THE DAUGHTER OF TIME

THE DAUGHTER OF TIME

THE DAUGHTER OF TIME

BEAUTIFUL WORLD CABARETS – ALFIE FRIEDMAN

Charing Cross Theatre

★★★★

“A candid performer, he lets us into his world. His unique personality sets him on a tightrope, yet he is fearless in his performance”