Acorn Antiques the Musical!

This is the first time I have written a review for a production I actually appeared in (for one night only when one of the cast fell ill and then fully recovered the next day thankfully!) so have let a little time pass for the front of house - rather than onstage memories to take ‘centre stage’. 

Acorn Antiques, for those of you who have been living in a box this century, is a musical about an antiques dealer, based on the parodic soap opera of the same name by Victoria Wood. It premiered in the West End in 2005 and is due for a touring company revival this year.  The cast’s performance was a great example of Ensemble theatre.  The team, in leading roles and the supporting cast, all played their part in the delivery of Victoria Wood’s glorious dialogue and song lyrics and you could tell just by the ‘twinkling eyes’ from all involved that each member of the cast was ‘pulling’ for every other member, and selflessly set up gags (visual and dialogue) for each other without ever trying to hog the limelight.  Occasionally some of the cast took the script ‘on safari’ but always brought it back under control without the audience being aware - which only added to the adrenalin and fun of the production.

Although this is very much an ensemble piece there are of course some roles that carry the heaviest responsibility of moving the action and story forward and in all cases these ‘Principal’ roles were universally excellent.  Carrie-Anne Corner gave a whole new meaning to ‘man eating’ as the sexually predatory, yet vulnerable with a heart of gold, Miss Babs.  Carolyn Smith gave, I think, her best performance (vocally and acting) that I have seen from her as the ‘jilted through circumstance’ Miss Berta.  Carolyn worked effortlessly with both Carrie-Anne and Jason Parker who delivered Mr Clifford with exactly the right level of sincerity and self-awareness, wringing, as he did, every last comedy gem from his delivery of such classic Wood phrases as ‘Sellotape dispenser’ and ‘I have a scrotum’.  Alex Tavener also gave a great performance as she completed the lineup of sisters as the scheming, machiavellian coffee shop director Miss Bonnie.  Adam Richmond gave a very believable and sleazy ‘Tony’ with great support from Chris Collington, Keith Butcher, Zach Foster, Emily Corner and the rest of the cast.  

There is one role, that although it does not have the majority of lines can, by design, make or break Acorn Antiques and that is Mrs Overall.  Julie Walters is a very hard act to follow.  But luckily for the cast, in Mina Machin they have the practically perfect Mrs O.  Mina’s ability to dance, deliver dialogue with the perfect intonation, timing and dialect coupled with her physical transformation made Mrs O leap off the stage and be 100% believable.  With commando rolls and scripted F’ bomb’s at appropriate points in the evening, Mina caused some members of the audience (and cast) to have trouble breathing through their laughter.

The onstage cast were very ably directed by Rob Corner who had clearly allowed his talented cast to develop their roles and all credit to him for that – as well as for the creation of exactly the right set that was sturdy but looked to the audience like it had the same level of ‘amateurism’ as the TV series with sticking doors, and the occasional stranding of stage crew deliberately on stage to nervously creep off.

Dave Dallard and his 7piece band provided just the right musical accompaniment to the production with an excellent balance throughout.  Dave’s vocal coaching of the entire cast was faultless as diction and musicality were strong elements throughout the night.  Choreography from Laurie Trott was enjoyable throughout, ensuring the enthusiasm of both cast and audience alike, and lighting and sound supported the production well.

Many congratulations to one and all and I look forward to 9 to 5 next year.

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