MR MOORE’S BIZARRE SECRET SOCIETY
Bridewell Theatre
★★★½
“the show is thoroughly feel good”
A forgotten tearoom in Victorian England is a charming place to hide a children’s story. With shades of Dickens, Alice in Wonderland, and just a pinch of Great British Bake Off, Gloria Danili’s Mr Moore’s Bizarre Secret Society is ten out of ten.
1865 society pulls no punches in its treatment of the vulnerable and certainly not for miscreants. Young Leopold Liddell has been sent to live with his imperious Uncle Vernon, while the elderly Mr Moore is evicted and left homeless. The two lives collide in a disused tearoom. They bring it back to life, uncovering its secret past and forming a tribe of misfits and dreamers, drawing the attention of Queen Victoria herself.
The idea behind the play is a winner and the acting is very good. In such a low-budget production, there’s bound to be a lot of doubling. Derek Jeck is commanding as both Lewis Carroll and the villainous Vernon. Sarah Finch is excellent as Queen Victoria, Lord Melmotte and a pirate plus a few other roles. Frazer Blaxland and Elena Mackay are real troupers, playing a stream of constables, judges and street sellers between them. Sofia Inforzato has professional competence beyond her years, taking the child roles, from Alice Liddell to the match seller. The standout is Michael Bertenshaw as Mr Moore. He carries the evening. Henry Camp is a worthy foil as Leopold. Under Roman Stefanski’s direction the role changes are clear and good-natured.
The staging is minimal, and it works. The lighting (Aaron Dootson) does a great deal with very little, and the multimedia is excellent. The sound and video (Julian Butler) enhance the bare stage (Jane Linz Roberts). Victorian London appears around the actors without any need for scenery.
The problem is the first act, which needs severe editing. The set up goes on and on. The pace is flat. Lots of exposition gets in the way of momentum. There are eight meaty scenes before the interval, including Mr Moore’s home, a railway, the London streets, the Old Bailey and the London Library. Not to mention the tearoom. It’s a meander too far. Extraneous details could be swapped for more humour. The Dickens/Alice in Wonderland angle could be mined for more familiar nuggets. This would bring the audience along for the ride, instead of leaving us wondering what is the point.
As a family show, this matters. Modern audiences, especially children, are intolerant of a slow start.
The first act is just about worth sticking with. By the end, the show is thoroughly feel good. The second act, with its Grand Tea Tournament, shows how tight and charming the whole evening could be. A thorough edit would make the tearoom well worth the trip.
MR MOORE’S BIZARRE SECRET SOCIETY
Bridewell Theatre
Reviewed on 2nd October 2026
by Elizabeth Botsford
Photography by Henry Hu
