GLORIOUS!

Theatre Royal Windsor

★★★

“a very watchable, and funny, portrait of a very eccentric woman”

The American socialite, Florence Foster Jenkins, who was widely mocked for her poor singing ability once famously remarked that “people may say I can’t sing… but no one can ever say I didn’t sing”. It throws into question just how aware she was of her considerable vocally deficiencies. Was she in on the joke, or did she honestly believe that she had talent? To some extent, Peter Quilter’s stage comedy “Glorious!” addresses the dilemma. It treats its subject very much as a joke – especially in the first act – but also gives us a glimpse of the complex personal history behind an eccentric who is merely trying to live her dream. The latter may come a little too late, and the former overdramatised and outstretched. The jokes – at Jenkins’ expense – are relentless and repetitive, and consequently our belief in the extent of her self-delusion is undermined.

It is 1944 and Florence Foster Jenkins (Wendi Peters) is recruiting a new accompanist, having dismissed her original one after catching him giving her audience a ‘knowing smile’ during a performance. In walks Cosmé McMoon (Matthew James Morrison) who rather swiftly discovers what he is letting himself in for, but takes the job anyway. A lifelong alliance ensues which is eventually portrayed by the pair as a touching tribute to the human spirit. Morrison is a striking presence and a talented pianist who finds the perfect balance between humouring Jenkins and showing unwavering support and loyalty. We get that McMoon is not just in it for the money, of which Jenkins has plenty, inherited from her father. Also inherited was her fierce determination – a direct and perverse reaction to her father’s dismissal of her ambitions by refusing to fund her musical education. The loss of her sister at the tender age of eight also had profound effects on shaping her personality. These facts are glossed over somewhat, as is her first marriage and her subsequent relationship with the actor St. Clair Bayfield.

But, to be fair, that is not the ambition of the play. Quilter is unashamedly playing for laughs. And Peters and Morrison certainly deliver. Peters channels Hyacinth Bucket from ‘Keeping up Appearances’, with a faultless American accent – and more faultless is her ability to sing extremely badly. One needs to be a virtuosic vocalist to be able to get it so wrong so convincingly. It is a bold performance, complete with outrageous costumes courtesy of Ingrid Hu. Morrison has more to play with and stands out as the sympathetic piano-player, breaking out of character to address the audience directly, at times, with some much-needed exposition.

To complement what is inherently a two hander are Sioned Jones as friend and side-kick Dorothy, and Caroline Gruber’s Italian maid, Maria. “I’m sure she’s Italian just to annoy me” quips Jenkins with shades of ‘Fawlty Towers’ creeping into the script. Gruber also doubles as the uptight Mrs Verrinder Gedge who storms the stage during one of Jenkins’ recitals to deliver the truth – in true ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ fashion. But the show ultimately belongs to Peters and Morrison, and we certainly feel the bond between the two. Director Kirk Jameson seems to take a while to find the true heart of the piece. Act One is very much a one-trick wonder that relies on slapstick rather than character; and we only really start warming to the couple in the second half. The gentler moments are quite touching, especially when Peters demonstrates moments of self-doubt that her peers rarely – if ever – saw. The comedy also works better the more subtly it is delivered. McMoon’s closet homosexuality is nearly blown by Jenkins during some cleverly constructed and unpredictable dialogue.

We do take particular pleasure from hearing Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’, for example, or Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ being well and truly murdered. Even if it does wear a bit thin. We are rewarded with a quite stunning finale that gives us a delicious taste of Wendi Peters’ true talents. What we hear in our head or in our heart is not always what is heard by those that surround us. Jenkins died shortly after her ill-fated public performance at Carnegie Hall. We may never really know how aware she was of others’ perception. “Glorious!” doesn’t attempt to shed more light on the quandary, but it is a very watchable, and funny, portrait of a very eccentric woman. Thankfully it hits many more right notes than its subject.

GLORIOUS!

Theatre Royal Windsor then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 17th March 2026

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Chris Davis

GLORIOUS!

★★★

“The real magic is to be found in the performances which are quite captivating”

Contemporary Ritual Theatre’s play “Salt”, written and directed by Beau Hopkins, aims to fulfil its objectives of creating ‘innovative, powerful and challenging theatre’. From the outset it is, indeed, atmospheric. With no set, an eighteenth-century unnamed Norfolk village is conjured up by merely a few buckets, baskets and bones, and other nautical flotsam; with sound effects purely created from the throats of the close-knit cast. The audience sit in concentric circles. Centre stage a thick rope, coiled like a King Cobra, is unravelled by the performers and laid out in a ring at our feet. A boundary it seems. A clear partition between our world and theirs. They often cross it, but we are never allowed to.

Throughout, we are outsiders looking into the world summoned up by this three-hander play, and the sense of exclusion never leaves us. It is a world both simple and tragic, ethereal yet earthy. Man Billy (Mylo McDonald), a fisherman, lives on the coast with his domineering mother, Widow Pruttock (Emily Outred). It is a wind-swept existence, pounded by both the elements without and the superstitions within. The pair are bound to each other by an invisible cord. Until itinerant singer Sheldis (Bess Roche) appears, threatening to break the connection by casting her own spell on Man Billy.

The narrative unfolds slowly and, although Sheldis doesn’t make an appearance until just before interval, she is ever present – a shadow just beyond the boundaries. All three cast members repeatedly cross over from mundane reality to the surreal mysticism of folklore and fantasy. The transition is as easy as a breaking wave on the shore. Hopkins’ writing is rhythmic and poetic, with shades of Dylan Thomas, particularly when the actors break into other characters from the remote village. It is ‘Under Milk Wood’ turned sour. The more the story unfolds, however, the more tangled it becomes and for much of the time we are unsure of where it is heading.

The performances are compelling. McDonald, as Billy, is a simple soul, full of questions and unbound curiosity. Boyishness on the edge of darkness. Outred’s Widow Pruttock obsessively guards her son from this darkness while unwittingly pushing him further into it. Roche, as Sheldis, is a force to be reckoned with. Part rag doll, part Voodoo priestess, part gypsy, siren and shaman, she captivates the audience as much as she enchants Billy. What is never made clear is her agenda or her motive. Likewise, we never really know whether we are in a Mystery Play or a Morality Play; or just some sort of experimental workshop. By the second act, the poeticism is still very much intact, but we are losing the sense of purpose. There is no denying the chemistry of the trio onstage, yet we feel excluded from their own internal language and communication. The compelling nature loses its grip somewhat in its final moments – this could be much more harrowing if less baffling.

What does give it cohesion is the physicality and the rhythm. Precisely choreographed, the dialogue shifts seamlessly into bursts of a Capella singing, not melodious but in harmony with the landscape depicted and with the archaically lyrical language. Many themes are explored – some larger than others – including grief, love, death, self-knowledge, mysticism… but the strands have no real direction. By the end, the rope that was laid out is collected and coiled up again into its bundle. We are back at the start – none the wiser maybe, yet we still feel we have experienced something quite magical, if not easily accessible. The real magic is to be found in the performances which are quite captivating. A provocative piece – not to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Tag Archives: Jonathan Evans

GLORIOUS!

★★★

UK Tour

GLORIOUS!

Theatre Royal Windsor

★★★

“a very watchable, and funny, portrait of a very eccentric woman”

GLORIOUS!