The Week UK - 14.03.2020

30 ARTS

THEWEEK 14 March 2020

Drama

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NTHONY ROBLING; RICHARD HUBERT SMITH

Theatre: Oliver Twist

Leeds Playhouse until 21 March, then touring (rampsonthemoon.co.uk) Running time: 2hrs 15mins ★★★★

Trynottomissthiscompelling

adaptationofOliverTwist

whichhasopenedinLeedsand

willtourIpswich,Nottingham,

Birmingham,Sheffieldand

Stratfordbetweennowandearly

June,saidNatashaTripneyin

TheStage.Itisperformed

byRampsontheMoon,a

consortiumofsevenBritish

theatrescommittedto“putting

D/deafanddisabledartistsand

audiencesatthecentreoftheir

work”.Andinthisversionof

theDickensclassic–byplay-

wrightBryonyLavery–Oliver,

theArtfulDodgerand“gang-

mistress”Faginarealldeaf.

Oliverwhohasneverbeentaughttosignorspeak,findsahome

ofsortsamongFagin’s“gangoftheblind,deafanddisabled”.In

aterrificstagedebut,BrooklynMelvinbrilliantlyshowsOliver’s

moodshiftingfrom“fearandincomprehensiontothepurejoy

thatcomesfrombeingunderstood, valued andwanted”.

“Readmy lips:it’sagreatshow”,saidMark Fisher inThe

Guardian.The“choreographyoftheensemble’ssigningisas

beautiful as the filmic surtitles” and helps make the piece accessible

toall.AndLavery’spoetic text providestheperfect backdrop for

director Amy Leachtoexpress her “sharpand inclusivevision”

of Dickens’smasterpiece,saidAdam Bruceon What’sOnStage,

while the vividlyexpressivesetdesign–allrust, grimeandsteel–

andthe cinematiclightingalladd totheintensity ofit.Thisis

OliverTwistas“you’venever

seenitbefore”.Packedwith

“stunningperformances

andgroundbreakingdesign

concepts,it’sanunmissable,

extraordinaryproduction”.

Traditionalistswillbegto

differ,saidCliveDavisinThe

Times.Lacking“therichnessof

thenovel’sprose”,thestoryline

hereveersevencloserto

melodramathantheoriginal,

especiallyinanall-too-brisk

secondhalf.Andthechorus-

likemodern-dresscodaoffering

a“briefsermonaboutthe

parallelswithmodern-day

poverty”feelssuperfluous,

though,ofcourse,Dickenscouldbepreachytoo.Buttakenon

itsownterms,thisexcellentlyactedshowworksverywell.It’sas

if“Dickenshasbeenrewrittenasagraphicnovelfullofbrooding

shadowsandtheoccasionalsteam-drivenwheelchair”.

Brooklyn Melvin as Oliver:aterrific debut

The week’s other opening

Pretty WomanPiccadilly Theatre, London W1 (0844-871 7630).

Until2January 2021

Very wealthy fans of the “icky” hooker-meets-tycoon film

romcom might find something to enjoy in this lacklustre stage

musical version. Everyone else might well feel “pretty fleeced”

(Daily Telegraph).

Opera: Così fan tutte

Now finished at Hackney Empire, touring until 28 May (englishtouringopera.org.uk) Running time: 2hrs 50mins ★★★

Mozart’sgreat comicopera

is,accordingtoits subtitle,

“TheSchool forLovers”.Yet

thesedaysit cansometimesfeel

like“aschoolfor theaudience”,

saidAlexandra Coghlan on

TheArts Desk.Alltoooften,

directorsoffer“joyless”lectures

on feminism, misogynyand

cynicismwherethey shouldbe

offeringfun.So thank heavens

forthisblissfulproduction from

LauraAttridge for English

Touring Opera.It doesn’t try

to batter us with “gimmicky

concepts”. It simplydelivers

Così fan tutteas a“genuinely

funny” colourful screwball

comedy–asunny, laugh-out-loud,“musicalgame of kiss-chase

that’sallcanoodling behind thepottedpalms,suavelinen suits

andsillymoustaches”. Musically,the ev enin ghasn’tquite bedded

in yet: the lightness andfreshness of thestagin gisn’t quite

matchedbythe singing andplaying. Buteven so,“Idon’t know

when I’veenjoyed aCosìmore”.

Theproduction“wil lsurely go downastorm on its

forthcoming national tour”, agreed Rupert Christia nsenin

The Daily Telegraph. It’s beautiful tolook at:designer Oliver

Townsend givesus a“gorg eously gilded atrium andcostumes

out of the fantasyworld of Hollywoodscrewball movies”.The

storyislucidlytold, an d“somefresh ly executed comic business

provokesgenuinely spontaneouslaughter from the audience,

abettedby the witof Jeremy Sams’s excellenttranslation”.

Thesinging,too,isoften

“exquisitelyexpressive”,said

NickKimberleyintheLondon

EveningStandard. Each member

of the six-strongcast is“fully

insideMozart’svocalidiom,

andthe senseof ensemble

performanceisacute”, with

light,breezysupport fromthe

period instrumentsofthe Old

StreetBand.

Ican’t sayIwasparticularly

impressed,said Geoff Brown in

The Times.On opening night,

Ifound several of thesinging

performanceswere rather

bottled-upand underwhelming,

andthe comedyvery hitand

miss. It’sall decently sung and played, saidRichardFairman in

the FT:but it ’s too“bla nd” –and thecomedyonlyreally sparks

to life at theend of t he first act. Butthatsaid,the storyis“well

told for first-time audiences”.Andthisalsohas to be the“best-

looking show” ETOhas produced in its40years.

An “exquisitely expressive” cast

Album of the week

Poulenc: PianoConcertoResonus £12.99

If youneed distracting from pestilence and floods, Poulenc’s

“charmingly effervescent” piano concerto isathing of beauty,

joyfully played on this first-rate disc. Pianist Mark Bebbington

“captures the mood perfectly”, with the Royal Philharmonic on

sparkling form (Observer).