Tag Archives: Simon Beck

SOIR NOIR: A NIGHTCLUB CONFIDENTIAL

★★★

Crazy Coqs

SOIR NOIR: A NIGHTCLUB CONFIDENTIAL

Crazy Coqs

★★★

 

“Not quite pure gold, but a nostalgic journey back to the Golden Era”

‘If you’re fond of sand dunes and salty air’, croons David Rhodes in the opening number of his cabaret show, “Soir Noir: A Nightclub Confidential”. It comes from the 1957 hit single by Patti Page – ‘Old Cape Cod’ – probably more recognised by modern audiences as the sampled riff in Groove Armada’s ‘At the River’. But Rhodes’ repertoire is firmly steeped in the 1950s and the decades that precede. Cape Cod is where this show began, on the Massachusetts coast at the Provincetown Cabaret Fest. From there it moved up to New York before coming over to London for its European Premiere.

It is an evening that invites us to step back in time and imagine we are in an intimate club sitting around the grand piano with a few close friends. The venue is ideal for evoking that atmosphere, and Rhodes does indeed pull off the conceit with his relaxed manner and ease with the assorted crowd he treats as his confidantes. Sometimes his inter-song banter has an over-scripted feel, but we enjoy his candid reminiscences, particularly one about his friendship with Noël Coward’s goddaughter and an errant smoking jacket. Deliciously camp in spangled vest and dinner jacket, Rhodes slips into song seamlessly and celebrates singers from Frank Sinatra to Louis Armstrong – even Dusty Springfield; and the great songsmiths such as Cole Porter, Noël Coward, Kurt Weill et al.

Musical director, Simon Beck, is at the piano providing the lush jazz-infused arrangements that help strengthen Rhodes’ fairly thin vocals. His voice suits the quieter moments. Weill and Brecht’s ‘Mack the Knife’ begins as it should: sultry and dark before it is inevitably (arguably wrongly) given the up-tempo, jolly treatment. But the vocal limitations are laid bare when a belt is called for. ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me’ cries out for a grand opening which is all too absent. The passion that informs his story telling doesn’t quite cross over into his performances of the numbers. Cole Porter’s ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ plods, but is later saved by his ‘Miss Otis Regrets’ which does give an outlet to Rhodes’ acting background, as he knocks back the cocktails and gets increasingly tipsy. The interpretation has character that elsewhere his voice has yet to find.

A crackle of electricity fills the room when he invites onto the stage his partner Jake Oswell. A tall, beguiling presence in high heels, black evening gown and a voice as smooth as his satin opera gloves. Oswell launches into a delicious version of the classic Judy Garland ‘I’ll Plant My Own Tree’. It is a shame they are given such little stage time – after a second number Oswell slinks back into the shadows, but the performance hangs over the stage like stardust.

Rhodes concludes the evening with a moving tribute to the great Louis Armstrong, replicating his famous spoken introduction to the classic ‘What a Wonderful World’. “Seems to me, it ain’t the world that’s so bad but what we’re doin’ to it. And all I’m saying is, see, what a wonderful world it would be if only we’d give it a chance. Love baby, love”. And so the show ends on a high, optimistic note that finally captures the essence of what Rhodes is trying to do. This is cabaret, after all, where we leave our troubles behind. David Rhodes’ “Soir Noir”, with its unpolished sophistication, does let us forget the outside world for a short while. Not quite pure gold, but a nostalgic journey back to the Golden Era.

 



SOIR NOIR: A NIGHTCLUB CONFIDENTIAL

Crazy Coqs

Reviewed on 16th April 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Michael Lee Stever

 

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

TORI SCOTT: TORI WITH AN ‘I’ | ★★★★ | February 2023
BARB JUNGR SINGS BOB DYLAN | ★★★★ | October 2022

 

SOIR NOIR

SOIR NOIR

SOIR NOIR

The Boy Friend

The Boy Friend

★★★★

Menier Chocolate Factory

The Boy Friend

The Boy Friend

Menier Chocolate Factory

Reviewed – 4th December 2019

★★★★

 

“The pleasure of this joyous revival stems in no small part from its truly gorgeous visual impact”

 

Set on the French Riviera in the 1920s, The Boy Friend was an instant hit on the London stage when it premiered in 1953. It is an affectionate, sun-drenched, period pastiche, and terribly terribly English. The book follows a tried and tested romantic comedy formula: runaway rich boy meets rich girl pretending not to be, they fall in love, overcome a tiny obstacle, and end up in one another’s arms. There is an older comedy couple – man with a roving eye and battleaxe wife – who overcome their differences and fall in love a second time; an older romantic couple, whose love, too, is rekindled, and three satellite young girls, all of whom wind up with their beaux at the show’s close. So far so hackneyed. But you don’t come to The Boy Friend for the plot.

The pleasure of this joyous revival stems in no small part from its truly gorgeous visual impact. Paul Farnsworth’s set is a delicate filigree, bringing to mind bandstands and the balmy air of long summer evenings. Paul Anderson’s stunning lighting design complements each setting and mood perfectly, with a beautiful, bold palette that makes the heart soar. The costumes too are divine, in particular those of the marvellously chic Madame Dubonnet, although the male outfits in the final carnival scene do let the side down a little. The sequins seem somewhat tawdry when set next to the pierrots and Maisie’s whimsical butterfly.

It is very easy to imagine this production on a West End stage, and it seems highly likely that it will transfer, but it was a delight to see it up close in the Menier Chocolate Factory, and to hear it up close too. The orchestra, directed by Simon Beck, was a triumph, and performed Sandy Wilson’s score with the brio and tenderness it deserves. And the dancing… The dancing was out of this world. Sharp, snappy, sexy, infectious, fabulous. Terrific choreography from Bill Deamer and a knockout dance performance from Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson, as Maisie, in particular. This production is well cast, and all the principals shine. Amara Okereke is a perfect Polly – all innocence and charm – and has a radiant soprano which is blissful to listen to; Dylan Mason’s Tony is earnest and gauche, and there is delightful on-stage chemistry between them. Janie Dee brings some star quality to the delicious, flirtatious Madame Dubonnet; Tiffany Graves is full of fun and mischief as Hortense and Adrian Edmonson gives a peerless comic turn as Lord Brockhurst.

There are a few wrinkles in the fabric – Act III loses pace, mainly owing to the superfluous tango routine, and the shrillness of Polly’s three friends is overdone – but, in essence, The Boy Friend falls around you with the caress of a fine silk kimono and you can head off into the cold December night with the warmth of the Riviera in your step.

 

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Manuel Harlan

 


The Boy Friend

Menier Chocolate Factory until 7th March

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
The Gronholm Method | ★★★★ | May 2018
Fiddler on the Roof | ★★★★★ | December 2018
The Bay At Nice | ★★½ | March 2019
Orpheus Descending  | ★★★★ | May 2019
The Watsons | ★★★★ | October 2019

 

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