Review of Quality Street at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Before J. M. Barrie wrote Peter Pan he was actually more famous for the now little know farce Quality Street. Written in 1901 and set during Napoleonic times about a hundred years before that, this is a rather fabulous if extremely lightweight play. The play itself is now hardly ever performed, with this production from Northern Broadside and the New Vic Theatre one of the very few professional productions since the Second World War. including only one since then in London. It feels very unfair on the play considering that it is rather good entertainment, and nice to have a charge from the same endlessly regurgitated shows that come round and round like a bad penny.

The story tells of two sisters who start a school "for genteel children", following one of the sister's "suiter" heading off to serve in the war. That suiter Captain Valentine Brown however wasn't really interested in the sister Phoebe Throssel though, or was he? Much confusion ensues when Phoebe's niece Livvy "appears" culminating in much hilarity.

In addition to J. M. Barrie's original play, this new version from director Laurie Sansom captures anecdotes and play opinions from Halifax workers at the Quality Street chocolate factory that this play inspired the name of. It is an interesting and entertaining aspect of the show and gives modern commentary upon the play as the cast members play representations of these people in the show. They open the proceedings, provide set changes and further play comments, and finally discuss the play at the end with the characters of Barrie's play. It is a unique premise and generally works extremely well.

Leading the cast as Phoebe is a delightfully strong performance from Paula Lane, sharp clarity of delivery, and full to the brim of the period, with the exception of her brilliant anachronistic dance moves. Aron Julius as Captain Brown has a great towering presence, vocally strong and cutting a fine figure. His comic touches also are sublime, with a first-class moment in his removal of Livvy late in the second act.

Louisa-May Parker gives a suitably mousey performance as Susan, Phoebe's sister, and her reaction and handling of that Livvy moment (it is the best scene of the play, so my apologies for the second mention) is totally priceless and resulted in tears of laughter from this reviewer. Gilly Tompkins as Patty, and indeed factory worker Barbara, is also hilarious, effortlessly stealing every scene she appears in. The rest of the cast also delight in this very strong company, with no bad egg among them.

Jessica Worrall's set design is a curiosity, nicely dressed with furniture, albeit, somewhat plain at times, but structured by a very strange metal framework including gates. It works, but only just. Where perhaps the lavish beauty of the piece is lost on the set, it is very much found in the work of the costume design team, particularly the gowns for the ball designed like the chocolate wrappers of Quality Street. A nice touch. Add to this, some rather curious, but entertaining child puppets, and you have a nicely visually appealing show.

Quality Street is lovely entertainment, and it is a crying shame that it is rarely performed. It attempts nothing ground-breaking, but just simply entertains in a gentle way, but also provides a few truly cracking moments of humour. A sweetly delightful piece of theatre.

Absolutely spiffing and relaxing entertainment!
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 4th April 2023 at the Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton.

Quality Street is at Royal & Derngate until 8th April 2023.

For further details about the Royal & Derngate and to book tickets see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Production photos: Andrew Billington

Review of Friends - The Musical Parody at Milton Keynes Theatre

The One Where 2026 starts in a world of confusion. And so, 2026 is upon us and for my first trip to the theatre this year, one of my most significant reviewing challenges was to occur. Touring to Milton Keynes Theatre is Friends - The Musical Parody , based, unsurprisingly, on that little American show that ran to a few audience members for ten years. However, I confess that I was not, and have never been in that audience, never having seen a single episode of the show. However, always up for a review challenge and doing my due diligence by having a Friends superfan as my plus one, I headed to Milton Keynes with anticipation. For those unfamiliar with the show, I could say I can’t help; however, a quick review of some of the information you might need (thanks, Google and my plus one). Running for ten years between 1994 and 2004 with 236 episodes (quiz question, you are welcome), the main characters consisted of Phoebe (ditzy, writer of sad songs), Monica (in possession of an unfeasibly...

Review of Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Despite now having seen a few dance shows encompassing many different styles, I had yet to see one developed by Sir Matthew Bourne, a controversial player in his time, but as the relatively recent knighthood suggests, now very much embraced by the establishment. So, does Romeo + Juliet live up to his name, that is the question? So, first, this might normally be where I give you a brief outline of the story, but, for one, most have a general understanding of the love disaster of William Shakespeare's play already, and two, as it turns out from the Bourne production, a huge amount of what you might be familiar with has gone or been dramatically changed anyway. There is shocking complicity in murders, there are different moments of murder and gone are the warring factions of the Montagues and Capulets. Characters themselves feel very different at times also, to such an extent that even knowing the play doesn't always make it clear who is who at times. So, if all that sounds...

Review of 2:22 A Ghost Story at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

2:22 A Ghost Story continues an endless rise and run of success on the stage. This play by Danny Robins was first staged as recently as August 2021 at the Noel Coward Theatre and since then the show continued to run in London for two years, moving to four further London theatres, before eventually closing in the city to embark on this tour, which began in September last year. During these runs, the cast has constantly been updated with often populist actors, and some, which are not even associated with acting. As this reaches Royal & Derngate, now even the touring cast has been swept clean and four further performers take on the incredible success of a show. This is the second time I have seen 2:22 A Ghost Story , and it is safe to say that on that first viewing, with the previous tour cast, I was not as blown away by the play as the success seemed to warrant. The aforementioned populist casting seemed to have driven a so-so ghostly tale into success beyond its quality, and with th...

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