Tag Archives: Kelly Price

Flowers for Mrs Harris

★★★★

Riverside Studios

FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS at the Riverside Studios

★★★★

Flowers for Mrs Harris

“Jenna Russell slips into the title role as though it was tailor made for her, giving a performance that is as strong as it appears unassuming”

It takes its time, but the moment the curtain comes down on Mrs Harris you’ll be purring like the cat who has had more than its fair share of cream. As she stands centre stage with the memory of her late husband, we realise that the gaping hole in her heart has been filled, in the same way that ours are overflowing with warmth, born of the simple acts of kindness, love and selfless compassion. When Paul Gallico’s the novella – “Flowers for Mrs Harris” – was first published in 1958 its dust jacket read; ‘This is, if you like, a fairy tale. But of its enchantment, humour and pathos there can be no doubt… it will be loved for many years to come’.

Similar words would not be out of place in the programme notes for Richard Taylor’s and Rachel Wagstaff’s musical. Set in London during the 1950s, Ada Harris (or ‘Arris as she would say) is a hard-working cleaning lady whose clients range from eligible bachelors and society women to actresses. While cleaning for Lady Dant, Mrs Harris opens a wardrobe to discover an Haute Couture Dior dress. Enamoured and overwhelmed, she decides then and there that she will have one of her own. After a modest Football Pools win and two-and-a-half years of scrimping, her desire is achievable.

But this is never really about the dress. It is all about the human spirit. Ada Harris’ journey to Paris and back is not a material voyage, nor even a pilgrimage. It is a personal quest – of triumph over adversity and the discovery of qualities we all seek and do in fact possess if we look hard enough. This is very much brought out in Bronagh Lagan’s tender revival of the musical. Jenna Russell slips into the title role as though it was tailor made for her, giving a performance that is as strong as it appears unassuming. Old school charm is the name of the game here. Russell’s performance is a delicacy whose rich flavours linger long after curtain call.

“a sumptuous production, with Richard Taylor’s lush score eking out every emotion”

It is a quality that is shared by the whole company. While Russell is the main thread, the ensemble double up as characters from Ada Harris’ London life and also their French counterparts in Paris. There is almost a ‘Wizard of Oz’ aspect to this parallel world where the characters are distinct yet recognisable. Hal Fowler is magnificent as the reassuring ghost of Ada’s late husband, later appearing as the widowed French Marquis who finds common ground with Ada’s yearning humour. Charlotte Kennedy is truly watchable as the London based aspiring actress and the disillusioned Parisian model. It seems unfair not to be able to list them all, but mention must go to Nathanael Campbell as Bob the lovesick, shy accountant whose character is mirrored in Paris by André who finds love courtesy of Ada’s spirited intervention. Annie Wensak gives a colourfully nuanced performance as Ada’s best friend, fellow char lady and next-door neighbour Violet.

Kelly Price is the deliciously haughty yet compassionate Lady Dant, whose dress sparks off the whole story. As Madame Colbert, the troubled manager at the House of Dior, her performance is as polished as the House of Dior itself. Initially snubbing the unwelcome Ada, she and other Parisian personalities swiftly come under the spell of Ada and her magic wand. If anything, though, it is too quick and easy and the transformation of the staff at the fashion house a little hurried, which stands out in an otherwise slow-burning narrative. But it is a sumptuous production, with Richard Taylor’s lush score eking out every emotion. Seamlessly weaving in and out of the dialogue it is the essential flow that keeps the characters’ hearts beating.

Yes, this is ‘if you like, a fairy tale’. And we are in no doubt about its enchantment. A touch sentimental and safe maybe, but the warmest and most comforting antidote you could find for the oncoming autumnal evenings. Oh, and a hidden star of the show that can’t be avoided: Sara Perks’ costumes would walk proud on any Parisian catwalk*.

 

*The Dior gowns in the show were kindly loaned by Lez Brotherston from the original production

 

FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS at the Riverside Studios

Reviewed on 5th October 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith


 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

 

Run to the Nuns – The Musical | ★★★★ | July 2023
The Sun Will Rise | ★★★ | July 2023
Tarantino Live: Fox Force Five & The Tyranny Of Evil Men | ★★★★★ | June 2023
Killing The Cat | ★★ | March 2023
Cirque Berserk! | ★★★★★ | February 2023
David Copperfield | ★★★ | February 2023
A Level Playing Field | ★★★★ | February 2022
The Devil’s in the Chair | ★★★★ | February 2022

Flowers for Mrs Harris

Flowers for Mrs Harris

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The Sex Party

The Sex Party

★★★★

Menier Chocolate Factory

THE SEX PARTY at the Menier Chocolate Factory

★★★★

The Sex Party

“Despite everything, the performances are – individually and collectively – quite wonderful”

 

What exactly is Terry Johnson saying in “The Sex Party”? It is probably the biggest question being asked as the audience leave the Menier Chocolate Factory, but the answer lies at the far end of a very circuitous route, littered with the roadkill of dozens of other debates – some bigger, some smaller, some old and some new. If Johnson had the answer, we would probably be watching a shorter play, but we would also be witnessing the premier of something ground-breaking, brave and unprecedented. As it stands, though, Johnson’s writing, whilst being wonderfully sharp, gives itself too many challenges.

But there is one question that pulls focus from all the others. Johnson has (semi) joked in interviews that this play runs the risk of him getting himself “cancelled”. And he has already confessed to losing friends – not because of the subject matter but because of the new vocabulary and attitudes he has had to adjust to and adopt. The characters in the drama have similar fallings out. Honestly. Is this progress?

Like Mike leigh’s “Abigail’s Party”, there is more than way to look at “The Sex Party”. We can recoil from the cringe-worthy pretension of the faux pas and twitter-feed platitudes, or we can see it as a portrait of individual and marital unhappiness. Unfortunately, the focus is bound to fall onto the former, which leaves the cast with a much harder job. Despite everything, the performances are – individually and collectively – quite wonderful.

Alex (Jason Merrells) and his young girlfriend Hetty (Molly Osborne) are hosting their first sex party. Osborne gives a standout portrayal of the submissive liberal – one who excuses coercion if it can be seen to be a personal choice. The party guests are trawled from the internet or chance meetings, with the exception of Alex’s old flame Gilly (Lisa Dawn) and her tetchy, jealous husband Jake (John Hopkins). Jeff (a wonderfully gruff, outspoken and debauched Timothy Hutton) barges onto the scene with a rich presence we outwardly resent while secretly finding his offensiveness funny. Magdalena, his Russian trophy wife (Amanda Ryan) is in tow, upstaging him – and everyone else – with her ludicrous and laughable opinions. (They say that many a true word is spoken in jest). Enter cool and aware Camilla (Kelly Price) with posh-but-dim, blond-haired buffoon Tim (an impressive Will Barton who occasionally channels another prominent posh-but-dim, blond-haired buffoon). The elephant in the room is Lucy (Pooya Mohseni), a transgender woman who throws a spanner into the works, sets the cat among the pigeons, and generally throws every other metaphor and cliché into the mix.

Mohseni doesn’t enter until the end of Act One. Up until then the piece can be enjoyed as a kind of alternative kitchen sink drama. Although it is a beautifully crafted kitchen sink in Tim Shortall’s stunning set that depicts a stylish Islington fitted kitchen. They are all in the kitchen at this party, only occasionally retreating offstage into the lounge for some staggered and brief sex. Conversation is awkward and the debates more varied than in the second half. It is clear, though, that Johnson is poking fun at the characters and not the subjects they are discussing. This is an important point, and one that is so often missed.

After interval the tone darkens, but narrows its focus. But this could well be the brilliant purpose of the writing. At one point, Lisa Dawn – who gives us a show stealing performance throughout – laments the fact that her own issues are completely overlooked and overshadowed by the subjects that have bulldozed themselves into the collective and confused consciousness. Mohseni, the flagship of self-identity in this piece, does her best to moderate the argument with poise and a coolness that seems to be telling us that it really shouldn’t matter.

“The Sex Party” is putting its head above the parapet. It is certain to be knocked down. It deals with prejudice, but the irony is that the same prejudices will inform people’s perception of the play before they have even seen it. Which is a shame. Yes, it could be pruned somewhat, and have fewer non-sequiturs and tangents, but Johnson’s writing is as acute and observant as ever; and often funny.

 

Reviewed on 16th November 2022

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Alastair Muir

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

 

Brian and Roger | ★★★★★ | November 2021
Habeas Corpus | ★★★ | December 2021
Legacy | ★★★★★ | March 2022

 

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