Skip to main content

Review of Make Way For Lucia by John Van Druten at The Playhouse Theatre, Northampton

There have been a couple of television versions of the Mapp & Lucia novels by E. F. Benson over the years and irrespective of which generation version you might have seen, the roles of Miss Mapp and Mrs. Lucas were filled with some heavyweight performers. So taking on these roles could, in theory, be a challenge too much to live up to. However, that would be if the characters themselves were less the sum of the performer. These are great characters on paper as well as on stage and therefore Gena McCrystal (Miss Mapp) and Juliet O'Connor (Lucia) make them very much their own in the stage adaption by John Van Druten.

Lucia has arrived and breezed both into the town of Tilling and the musical chair roundabout of house rental that is want to occur here. Her rented property is Miss Mapp's and for some reason, Mapp fails to follow the routine of keeping away, constantly "popping in", so the battle lines are drawn.
Make Way for Lucia is the typical battle of supremacy in the upper echelons of society and set in the early 1930s, and it is tremendous if occasionally frivolous fun.

Ben Knight (Georgie) and Juliet O'Connor (Lucia)
As Mapp and Lucia, Gena and Juliet spark off one another with delight on occasion, and they leave the audience sometimes doubting who to side with, although I suspect that most, and perhaps intentionally, finally settle on the much less pompous Lucia.

As is to be expected from a stage play adapted from six books, there is a great deal of material to condense, and as such while the story itself is solid, many of the great fun characters are diminished somewhat by necessity. You leave with no doubt that you would have liked to have seen more of the "Scottish" Rev. Barlett played with scene stealing relish by Adrian Wyman, and those that have seen at least one of the television versions or even read the books, will know that there is more depth to biscuit chopping Diva Plaistow (Di Wyman).


Simon Rye (Major Flint) and Gena McCrystal (Miss Mapp)
Those that do get a good bit of stage time though are the wonderfully comic Ben Knight and his portrayal of Georgie, the campest ladies heartthrob you could wish to see. He has some glorious scenes both with Lucia, and with his love rival Major Flint, played with some rambunctiousness by Simon Rye, and very wisely overplaying the nature of the character to gain maximum humour.

The performance I saw was opening night and it suffered a little from infrequent hesitation from some of the cast, possibly down to opening night nerves and a slightly quiet audience. As the week passes, the audience will no doubt help lift the pace as well from the occasionally stalling delivery. Personally, I would have also liked to have seen the set a little more dressed to make it in keeping with the hint of more money on show. Even a carpet of some description would have glammed it up a touch. Costume wise though, it is a delight to the eye, and with the vast wave of seriously weird facial hair and wigs on display, delivers a visual delight adding very much to the comic value.

So, Make Way for Lucia entertains very much in its simple and light comedy. This isn't raucous stuff, but more traditional fair and not only does it genuinely suit The Playhouse stage, it also suits many of the performers who bring to life these larger than life characters. Great fun!

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 12th September 2017 at the Playhouse Theatre, Northampton.

Make Way for Lucia runs at the Playhouse Theatre, Northampton until Saturday 16th September 2017.

For full details of the Playhouse Theatre visit their website at http://www.theplayhousetheatre.net/
and can be found on Twitter @PlayhouseNTH or on Facebook at 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1104164619627708/


Photos: Vicki Holland

Popular posts from this blog

Review of & Juliet at Milton Keynes Theatre

First performed in 2019, & Juliet has become quite a global success, and now, as part of a UK Tour, it has arrived at Milton Keynes Theatre for a two-week run. Featuring a book by David West Read, it tells the what-if story of the survival of Juliet at the end of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet . Primarily a jukebox musical, it more specifically features the works of Swedish songwriter Max Martin (and friends, as the credits describe). The question is, does & Juliet provide more than the standard of many a jukebox musical before it, and does it honour the tragic tale from which it has sprung? Our story opens with William Shakespeare presenting his latest work, Romeo & Juliet , for the first time. However, when his wife, Anne Hathaway, learns how he intends the tale to end, she is away with his quill and planning on her reworking of the story. At the core of this touring production's success is Geraldine Sacdalan's powerhouse performance as Juliet. Her Juliet ...

Review of Northern Ballet - The Great Gatsby at Milton Keynes Theatre

This production of The Great Gatsby performed by Northern Ballet was my fifth encounter at the theatre of a full ballet production and as before, I happily share my review of the show with nearly zero knowledge of-the-art form and more of a casual theatre-goer. You could say that this is a poor direction to come in on a review, but I would say that casual audience are the ones to review this for. Over the years, Northern Ballet has set quite a high benchmark for ballet productions, and any audience member who is worth their salt as a ballet fan would no doubt have tickets for this new touring version of the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby , lovingly created by David Nixon OBE. So much is Nixon part of the very fabric of this show, that he not only provides the choreography and direction but also the initial scenario and costume design (assisted by Julie Anderson). So, discounting those ballet fans already sitting in the audience, what does this offer for the more casual theatre-goer ...

Review of Ghost Stories at Milton Keynes Theatre

Written by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, the play Ghost Stories has had great success since its first staging in 2010, with runs in the West End and a previous UK tour in 2020 and overseas. So, it is no surprise that a further tour has launched for 2025, reaching Milton Keynes Theatre this week. The pedigree for the show is also strong, written by Dyson, the unseen part of the legendary The League of Gentleman team, and Nyman, a man of many talents and perhaps most relevant for this show, as a long collaborator with magician Derren Brown. Stagecraft ideas for his work provide many tricks in this stage show. Without any spoilers, the story sees a sceptical Professor Goodman out to debunk the paranormal and using three apparent hauntings – as recounted by a night watchman, a teenage boy, and a businessman awaiting his first child as his basis for a lecture. However, has Goodman finally met something he can not discredit? Running as a speedy one-act 90-minute production, any tension the...