Tag Archives: Victoria Jeffrey

After Dark; or, A Drama of London Life
★★★★

Finborough Theatre

After Dark; or, A Drama of London Life

After Dark; or, A Drama of London Life

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed – 20th June 2019

★★★★

 

“once you get your ear into a penny dreadful frame of mind, it becomes engrossing and plain fun”

 

If you’d told me that a Thursday evening in Brexit Britain following the latest instalment of a soulless slog towards finding the new Tory Prime Minister would have seen me grinning along to a rousing rendition of Rule Britannia, complete with Union Jacks, I’d have laughed in your face. But perhaps the play is right; all the best things do happen After Dark.

Written by Dion Boucicault (who based it on Les Oiseaux de Proie by Eugène Grangé and Adolphe d’Ennery), the work, subtitled A Drama of London Life, was an 1868 box office hit. London life is right; we find ourselves at the nexus of some key moments in our city’s past. Robert Peel’s bobbies patrol the streets, the new Metropolitan line (cleverly rendered) plays a starring role and (gulp) empire is held above all. Despite adjustments for modern audiences (director Phil Willmott rightly removed anti-Semitic characterisation), this remains every inch the melodrama, with ham in spades. The music hall is still alive at the Finborough, with the saucy ditties to prove it, and some depictions border on panto. Toby Wynn-Davies as sly lawyer Chandos Bellingham, for example, is only ever a signature song away from Fagin – but once you get your ear into a penny dreadful frame of mind, it becomes engrossing and just good plain fun. Wynn-Davies in particular brings real menace, especially in a beautifully-choreographed scene making the most of the clever sliding set and a terrific thunderclap sound effect.

In fact sound (Julian Starr) and lighting (Zak Macro) are, uniformly, first class. Rousing Victorian brass sets the scene and the live music too is of exceptionally high quality; Gabi King, Rosa Lennox (who is also musical director) and Helen Potter deliver a genuinely affecting rendition of Abide With Me, amongst other more ribald pieces. Hannah Postlethwaite’s adroit staging, establishing all of London from treacherous Rotherhithe to a smart hat shop, combined with liberal quantities of dry ice, make the small space feel genuinely atmospheric. It doesn’t take long to believe we’re in the murky streets of old; fans of Sherlock Holmes will find plenty here to enjoy.

Those of us who have had a sticky tube journey here might be heard snorting at the underground described as a ‘glorious pathway of shining light’, and certainly there are other moments that date the piece even uncomfortably (the uneasily stereotypical Russian dance troupe springs to mind). But approach the night with tongue firmly in cheek, anticipating an ending of Shakespearean levels of silliness, and you can’t go too far wrong.

 

Reviewed by Abi Davies

Photography by Sheila Burnett

 


 After Dark; or, A Drama of London Life

Finborough Theatre until 6th July

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Square Rounds | ★★★ | September 2018
A Funny Thing Happened … | ★★★★ | October 2018
Bury the Dead | ★★★★ | November 2018
Exodus | ★★★★ | November 2018
Jeannie | ★★★★ | November 2018
Beast on the Moon | ★★★★★ | January 2019
Time Is Love | ★★★½ | January 2019
A Lesson From Aloes | ★★★★★ | March 2019
Maggie May     | ★★★★ | March 2019
Blueprint Medea | ★★★ | May 2019

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

 

Little Women
★★★½

The Space

Little Women

Little Women

The Space

Reviewed – 6th December 2018

★★★½

 

“the performances are committed and energised”


‘Little Women’ is a much loved classic, and Rachael Claye’s adaptation is deeply true to the spirit of its inspiration. Warm and human and familiar, this is a play about family, about growing up, about leaving and about coming back together. Four young women live with their mother, each yearning for different things. Amy is an artist, Jo a writer, Beth a carpenter and Meg wants to make a difference in people’s lives. We meet them as they begin to encounter the world, caught between child and adult.

The cast is consistently strong. Miranda Horn as Beth is particularly lovely, natural and bright onstage. Sean Stevenson’s Laurie is playful and likeable, Amy Gough as Jo is earnest and fervent. In fact across the cast, the performances are committed and energised, and the familial relationships feel nothing but genuine. Jonathan Hawkins as the quirky Professor is a vibrant late addition to the play.

The script captures well what is so brilliant about the book, the relationships and characters are well sketched. However whilst very strong in many ways, it suffers from indecision. The narrative is supposedly set in modern day Crouch End but the dialogue fluctuates back and forth, sometimes genuinely contemporary, in other moments far more mannered and of its time. The ages of some of the characters also seems confused. Stephanie Dickson as Amy, for example, has been directed to play quite young complete with pigtails and a bow in her hair but is simultaneously applying to art school, an incongruence which is not believable.

The show is also a little too long. There are a couple of scenes that are unnecessary, if lovely, and the end, equally is not needed. The image of Beth and Jo together for the last time, of ‘Little Women’ forming in Jo’s mind, is one of both sadness and hope, and I don’t think we learn anything further from the action that follows that. 

A Christmas classic, Claye’s 2018 adaptation of ‘Little Women’ is a charming joy to watch that just needs some tweaking to really situate itself.

 

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by Matthew Thomas

 

Little Women

The Space until 15th December

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Be Born | | June 2018
Asking For A Raise | ★★ | July 2018
Bluebird | ★★★★ | July 2018
I Occur Here | ★★★★★ | August 2018
Rush | ★★★½ | August 2018
Fleeced | | September 2018
Little Pieces of Gold | ★★★★★ | October 2018
Love is a Work In Progress | ★★★★ | October 2018
The Full Bronte | ★★★ | October 2018
Woman of the Year | ★★★ | October 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com