Tag Archives: The Tailor Made Man

THE TAILOR-MADE MAN

★★★★

Stage Door Theatre

THE TAILOR-MADE MAN at the Stage Door Theatre

★★★★

“Pilcher magnificently captures Haines’ free spirit and rebelliousness”

In 1930, William Haines was listed as the top box-office attraction in Hollywood. Just three years later, however, having made the successful transition to ‘talkies’, Haines’ contract was torn up by studio chief at MGM – Louis B. Mayer – and he was thrown out of the studio. Haines had lived the Bohemian lifestyle of Tinseltown, relying on the studio ‘fixers’ and his PR men to buy the silence of the press. When that eventually failed, the studio bosses sought to silence Haines instead. Almost overnight his name was removed from history and all his movies were withdrawn and locked in a vault where they stayed, unseen, for over sixty years. Why?

Claudio Macor’s play, “The Tailor-Made Man”, charts his story. In today’s society it is unthinkable that Haines was treated the way he was, although there are sadly still remnants of the hypocrisy and double standards that litter the cutting room floors of Hollywood. Haines was openly gay (a dangerous thing to be one hundred years ago) and living with his lifelong partner Jimmie Shields. He refused to bow to the demands of Louis B. Mayer and give Shields up to marry the silent screen vamp Pola Negri, and he paid for it with his career.

Although that is the focus of the story, Macor places it within the wider context of Hollywood in the late twenties and early thirties, throwing light too on some of the more colourful characters that populated that world. In rose-tinted hindsight it is seen as a Golden Age, but Macor’s astute observations unveil the cruel mechanics beneath its glossy, silver-screened veneer. We first see Haines introduced to MGM having been spotted in a talent contest. A mannequin in the eyes of Mayer, naked, blank and ripe to be tailor-made into the next matinee idol. Hugo Pilcher, however, plays him as no dummy. Although initially wide eyed, Pilcher magnificently captures Haines’ free spirit and rebelliousness. Uninhibited and frank, he fearlessly does what he pleases, which is a blessing and a curse. Not always a sympathetic character, his circumstances and Pilcher’s portrayal ensure that we root for him to the end.

 

 

With him to the end is Jimmie Shields. Gwithian Evans successfully conveys the bond that keep them together. It is often stretched to breaking point, but Shields always manages to prevent it snapping. Evans shows us the deep frustration but also the devotion and loyalty that is strong enough to bear the Californian heat. Intermittently breaking out of character, Evans uses the transitions to narrate key elements of the story. Split into distinct chapters, the locations and context are beamed onto the back wall like silent movie captions. With Robert McWhir’s uncluttered direction, the story is as clear cut as the finest crystal champagne glass.

Dereck Walker’s depiction of a monstrous, homophobic Louis B. Mayer verges on caricature until we are struck by the frightening realisation that Walker’s interpretation might not be far from the truth at all. An imposing stage presence, that is matched by Peter Rae’s jittery PR guy – Howard Strickling. Sympathetic but obsequious his thankless task is to please everybody. And you know what happens when you do that. Rae, without any need for a physical makeover or visible costume change, brilliantly doubles as Hollywood hack, Victor Darrow, who yearns for the rain-drenched culture of English theatre, but cannot tear himself from the sun, and the sweaty sexuality of Haines and Shields that he likes to bathe in just as much.

The performances, and the writing, draw us into the fascinating story, made more poignant by the fact that this is a true story. But Macor never lets it get too serious. Shelley Rivers is a sunny delight as Marion Davies, even though probably the least researched character, but then again there isn’t the time or space to delve into Davies’ colourful and multi-faceted life. Olivia Ruggiero displays great versatility, as Mayer’s flirtatious secretary, but more significantly lampooning the great Pola Negri, yet still managing to inject a sadness into the character while she draws laughs from the audience.

This is a concise telling of an important slice of movie history. It focuses on some severe injustices, but the lens pans out to reveal a panorama. Evans slips back into narrator mode to deliver an epilogue that reinstates a sense of hope and survival. That to be yourself is, ultimately, a triumph. Similarly, this revival, in the recently opened Stage Door Theatre, above a Covent Garden pub, is also a triumph.


THE TAILOR-MADE MAN at the Stage Door Theatre

Reviewed on 16th May 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Peter Davies

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

MARRY ME A LITTLE | ★★★ | March 2024

THE TAILOR-MADE MAN

THE TAILOR-MADE MAN

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Review of The Tailor-Made Man – 4 Stars

Tailor

The Tailor-Made Man

White Bear Theatre

Reviewed – 9th November 2017

★★★★

“the dialogue cracks like a whip and never slips into sentimentality or false romanticism”

 

History has a habit of repeating itself. The current media spotlight on misconduct in the Movie World is nothing new. Neither is the hypocrisy that surrounds it, albeit nowadays it is that much more visible. “The Tailor-Made Man” at the White Bear Theatre is a timely reminder of this fact. This play has come full circle too. Claudio Macor’s play premiered in 1992, and was later developed as a musical at the Arts Theatre in 2013, and has now reverted back to straight drama for this twenty-fifth anniversary.

The ‘Tailor-Made Man’ of the title is William “Billy” Haines, a popular silent screen MGM movie star who was fired by Louis B Mayer because he was gay, and because he refused to give up his lifelong partner, Jimmie Shields, and marry the silent screen vamp Pola Negri. As punishment, his films were removed from release and sealed in the MGM vaults never to be seen again, and his studio photographs destroyed. It was an attempt to erase him completely from movie history.

This is the focus of the text, but Macor, being a master of his craft, effortlessly weaves their very human story into the greater tapestry of 1920s Hollywood. His observations of that world are spot-on, and he is unafraid to rip into the high-flown hypocrisies and homophobic double standards of ‘Tinsel Town’. Aided by a strong cast, the dialogue cracks like a whip and never slips into sentimentality or false romanticism.

Mitchell Hunt plays William Haines. It is difficult to play a love story without affecting the over emotionalism, but Hunt pulls it off. Almost too well, for initially we have no sympathy for the character whatsoever. It is testament to the writing though, and to the acting, that we realise this is a deliberate ploy. Billy Haines was very much a product of the machinations of Hollywood. Once removed, forcibly, from the studios, and free of it all, he is a delight. Hunt smoothly depicts this transformation – the arc of his journey is palpable.

Tom Berkeley’s Jimmie Shields is undoubtedly the backbone of the piece. Intermittently stepping out of the action he narrates, to camera, his own take on the story; a device that reinforces the power of his love. Mention must be made too, of Rachel Knowles, who plays Pola Negri. Still pining for Rudolph Valentino, her monologue describing her failure to make the transition from the silent pictures to the talkies is sublimely delivered, throwing pathos, grief, sadness and comedy all into the same melting pot. A potpourri of ingredients that could so easily go wrong, but she dishes it up with exquisite flavour. She has some of the best lines. In fact it is the mix of gravity and comedy that lifts this piece of theatre. Before the subject matter becomes too earnest the cast remember the importance of being comic.

But the play is the thing. This is a strong piece of writing, made stronger by the fact that it is a true story. A play of hope, of survival, of being yourself and, above all, of triumph. And to that end, this production is clearly a triumph.

 

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography Andreas Lambis

 

 

THE TAILOR MADE MAN

is at the White Bear Theatre until 25th November

 

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