★★★

“The score pulses like blood from a severed major artery”

As we wander into the dimly lit auditorium, there is a music box centre stage bathed in sepulchral light. It chimes like a nursery rhyme, but the tone has an ominous quality. This shadow of unease is darkened by the slowly rotating axe that replaces the ballet dancer that would normally ornament the music box. We feel that something is not quite right.

“Lizzie” – billed as a True Crime Rock Musical – tells the story of Lizzie Borden; a complex character who was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe in the late summer of 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts. Written by Tim Maner, Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt, it bursts onto the stage with the force of a recklessly wielded hatchet. The score pulses like blood from a severed major artery. It is exciting and powerful. Yet we know that something is not quite right.

The problem lies in the source material. Lizzie Borden passed into American folklore via the widespread publicity her trial received. Inevitably this gives rise to speculation, half-truths and fabrication but the plain fact is that Borden was acquitted. The police investigation was a shambles and criticised for its lack of diligence, and Borden’s testimonies were suspect to say the least. Contradictory answers to questioning, changing alibis and dubious statements all failed to bring a conviction. Although a free woman, she still lived with the burden of being the prime suspect of a murder that was never solved.

“This is definitely quirky and sassy, and it will get the blood flowing freely”

William Whelton’s production, however, leaves us in no doubt. Lizzie Borden comes across as a pretty cold-blooded murderer. There are attempts to get the audience on her side, but we are left just as cold. Alleged sexual and emotional abuse are revealed. Oppression and fear are used in mitigation, yet we still never root for her. Lauren Drew handles the material exceedingly well, giving as much of a human face as possible to a soul-less and manipulative personality. And the frequent doses of comedy help the bitter taste go down. She is aided and abetted throughout by her sister Emma (played with gusto by Shekinah McFarlane), and by her winking, all-knowing maid, Bridget (Mairi Barclay). Maiya Quansah-Breed completes the quartet as Lizzie’s friend, lover, ally and accuser. A complex journey simultaneously driven and hindered by a romantic sub plot.

Yet the show manages to rise above its drawbacks on the strength of its bombast and spectacularity. Almost sung through, “Lizzie” is in effect a concept album thrust onto the stage. More Prog Rock than the Punk it advertises, it therefore has a richness buried deep into the hardcore backing. All four performers complement this with stunning vocals and electrifying commitment. Rachel Tansey’s costume places the cast in a nineteenth century New England backwater, which jars, until they regenerate into the modern rock chick look that the music dictates. Andrew Exeter’s lighting is impressive, mixing intimate, Gothic hues with epic stadium rock-concert flourishes. There is plenty to applaud, and the audience are certainly on their feet doing that in abundance.

Yet we are ultimately brought back to the nagging sensation that something is not quite right. The message is perturbing. The girl power mantel doesn’t sit well on a story that is angled to let a murderess walk away scot-free. The attempts at comedy don’t always sit comfortably either. We come away not sure how we are supposed to feel. But at least we feel something. Our heartbeats have been raised quite a few beats per minute. This is definitely quirky and sassy, and it will get the blood flowing freely. Not as freely, thankfully, as Lizzie Borden’s victims.

FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS at the Riverside Studios

★★★★

“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

LIZZIE at Southwark Playhouse Elephant

★★★

“The score pulses like blood from a severed major artery”

“This is definitely quirky and sassy, and it will get the blood flowing freely”

LIZZIE at Southwark Playhouse Elephant

Reviewed on 1st November 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith

Previously reviewed at Southwark Playhouse venues:

Lizzie

Lizzie

FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS at the Riverside Studios

★★★★

“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”

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