Tim Hatley Archives - thespyinthestalls.com

★★★★★

“Crisp, dazzling, bold and brash”

Back in 2003 a young woman was hired as a personal assistant to a very well-known editor-in-chief for ‘Vogue’ magazine. When Dame Anna Wintour (for it was she) learned that a novel (reportedly earning its author a $250,000 advance) was being published, she said “I cannot remember who that girl is”. Within months, though, the rest of the world knew very well who Lauren Weisberger was. When news reached Hollywood, the rights were snapped up and Meryl Streep stepped into Wintour’s high heeled shoes, playing the thinly disguised character of Miranda Priestly – the high-flying, ruthless head of ‘Runway’ magazine.

Fast forward a decade or two. Elton John is drafted into the empire, along with American singer, actress, model, producer, dancer, designer and overall icon Vanessa Williams. Elton’s job is to knock out a memorable and instantly recognisable score, while Vanessa has some pretty lofty stilettos to fill. It has been a long catwalk, that eventually led – via a preview summer season in Plymouth – to London’s grand Dominion Theatre. With the sheer abundance of new musicals currently opening in the West End at the moment, it needs to make a splash to stand out. But as Anna Wintour herself has famously said; “If you can’t be better than your competition, just dress better.” This musical has taken her words to heart.

“The Devil Wears Prada” is, simply put, a stunning production in every way. Crisp, dazzling, bold and brash; it invites you to wallow in the feel-good spectacle without straining to look closely for the hidden safety pins that hold it all together. For that is not the point. This is pure escapism and, as such, arrives at just the right time of the year. Let’s get the anticipated, predominant quibble out of the way first. Why a musical? It was certainly one of my questions. But the answer came quickly. Most of the dialogue is lifted from the film, and what the team have done (Kate Wetherhead’s book, Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick’s lyrics and Elton John’s music) is to let the spoken word bleed seamlessly into song. There is a natural rhythm to the text, that is full of cracking soundbites, that cries out for a melody. Melodies that unmistakably come from Elton’s ivory-tickling fingers. Motifs lifted from his back catalogue ring out loud above the musical theatre bias but, hey, it is uplifting and sounds superb. The voices catapult to the rafters, even if – or perhaps due to – some of the emotion being too impassioned for its subject matter.

Despite a huge ensemble, the story revolves around a small bunch of characters. Wannabee journalist Andrea ‘Andy’ Sachs (Georgie Buckland) lands herself the job as junior PA to the savage chief of the magazine; Miranda Priestly (Vanessa Williams). Initially a square peg in a round whole, Andy undergoes a transformation that puts Olivia Newton John’s leather-clad make-over in ‘Grease’ to shame. The new look comes with greater responsibilities, extra glamour, but also a split form boyfriend Nate (Rhys Whitfield) and a realisation that she has strayed from her true path. She usurps Emily’s (Amy Di Bartolomeo) place in Miranda’s favour, gets off with writer Christian (James Darch) in Paris and unwittingly gets drawn into a back-stabbing subplot that leads the company’s art director Nigel (Matt Henry) to the sacrificial altar. It is no doubt common knowledge, and therefore no spoiler, that Andy ultimately sees the error of her ways. Buckland’s anthemic closing number, ‘What’s Right for Me’, is a pure, belting, sparkling highlight of the show.

Vanessa Williams is made for the role of Miranda. Like the show itself she refuses to take herself seriously. It’s a devil of a role but Williams captures the joy that follows in the wake of the abuse she fires at her victims. A perverse concept, but she gets it right. Her entourage are all triple threats, adept at comic timing, precision dancing and gorgeous singing. The star of the show, though, is Buckland whose Andy is both impressionable and strong. For a West End debut, she astonishingly commands the stage with ease.

It is a large stage to fill. Tim Hatley’s scenic design is a filmic masterstroke that leads us from New York to Paris and back again; weaving through dressing rooms, offices, apartments and boulevards; swooping beneath an illuminated Eifel Tower with a perspective that throws the cityscapes way beyond the back wall. And, of course, this show would never get away with skimping on the costume budget. Gregg Barnes has pulled out all the stops (aided probably by a blank cheque). Our chins are left almost scraping the floor when the jaw-dropping spectacle of the Paris Fashion Week scene closes Act One.

“The Devil Wears Prada” is sumptuously staged under Jerry Mitchell’s slick direction and choreography. Style certainly wins over content – and it is deliciously cheesy. But taken with a pinch of salt the effect is elevating, intoxicating and warming. It does exactly what it is supposed to do. Within seconds of the opening number, we cease to question or care about the artistic choices. Who cares if it comes across slightly dated at times? Or that the characters are skin deep beneath their designer outfits. The show is a glorious triumph. A devilishly good night out. Go and see it.

“Why are you still here? Go! That’s all!”

Life of Pi

Wyndham’s Theatre

Reviewed – 29th November 2021

★★★★★

“This is theatre at its most hallucinatory and wonderful, yet fundamentally simplistic; created by a collective vision that you forget is there.”

“Which story do you prefer?” asks Piscine “Pi” Patel of the two Japanese officials investigating the shipwreck from which he is the only survivor. We are approaching the end of this fantastical tale and it is a beautifully pertinent and intentional moment. It is a much more satisfying question rather than “which story they think is the true one”. ‘Life is a story’ and ‘You can choose your story’ are just two of the themes that wash up from the cruel sea of allegories that “Life of Pi” presents. Choosing what you believe and, in turn, controlling those beliefs is as treacherous as taming a Bengal tiger.

Transferring from Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre (delayed by the pandemic), Max Webster’s production, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti from Yann Martel’s novel, has predictably been hailed the new “War Horse”. Yet it is a different beast entirely. As intricate and astonishing as the puppetry is, the magic is also created from the enthralling central performances and the jaw-dropping stage craft. Under Webster’s sabre-sharp direction, the entire team of designers and cast capture the imagination, not just of the author, but of the audience too. It melds them into one of the same, both feeding off each other. It is an almost miraculous feat that is achieved, not from high tech wizardry, but from sheer inventiveness and trust in the human mind.

While Finn Caldwell’s and Nick Barnes’ puppetry breathe life into the wild creatures that pace the stage, Hiran Abeysekera’s central performance as ‘Pi’ is the life-force that pulses through the piece. Abeysekera pulls us into his worlds; his childhood at his father’s zoo, the hospital recovery ward, and onto his lifeboat. We willingly share his perils as he survives over seven months adrift on the Pacific Ocean. Originally accompanied by a hyena, zebra, orangutan and Bengal tiger, he is eventually alone with just the tiger. ‘Pi’ survives in part by acting upon profound philosophical questions that come to him like ghosts; and by pulling shreds of advice from his memory. “Use everything you have and defy the odds”. This latter truism can definitely be applied to the design of the piece in which the minds of Tim Hatley (set), Tim Lutkin (lighting) and Andrzej Goulding (video) have merged to conjure a breath-taking backdrop to the tale. There is a spell-binding moment when ‘Pi’ leaps off his boat into the ocean, vanishing in front of our eyes only to reappear elsewhere from the waves. No high-tech wizardry. Just inventive trickery.

This is theatre at its most hallucinatory and wonderful, yet fundamentally simplistic; created by a collective vision that you forget is there. In the same way, we are aware that the puppets – most noticeably the tiger – are being controlled by four different puppeteers, yet we don’t see them in our minds. What we see is the personality of a sentient creature vividly conjured by the language of its movement. The beast becomes human.

‘Pi’ tells us more than one story. We have his story with animals – fantastical, spiritual and dreamlike. And we have the harsh, scientific realism. “Which story do you prefer?” Pi asks, while provoking our silent answer with “You want a story to confirm what you already know”. This production challenges what we might already know about theatre but also, without a shadow of a doubt, reinforces our belief in the power of theatre. Long after you leave the auditorium, you will be bound by its spell. Abeysekera’s witty, compelling, and poised performance depicts a solo voyage. Surrounded by an incredible, indispensable company of actors it manages to transcend a single life. This is life itself. A fantastic voyage. This is Theatre.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA at the Dominion Theatre

★★★★★

“Crisp, dazzling, bold and brash”

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA at the Dominion Theatre

Reviewed on 28th November 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Matt Crockett

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

Wyndham’s Theatre

Reviewed – 29th November 2021

★★★★★

“This is theatre at its most hallucinatory and wonderful, yet fundamentally simplistic; created by a collective vision that you forget is there.”

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Johan Persson

Life of Pi

Wyndham’s Theatre until 27th February

More shows reviewed by Jonathan this year: