Glorious

The story of Florence Foster Jenkins is one of the more curious episodes in musical history: most of us know of the wealthy socialite who inflicted her very individual vocal style on on the public and became something of a cult figure along the way. This lighthearted play captures the buildup to her famous Carnegie Hall performance and manages to thrown an intelligent and sardonic glance or two in the direction of the artistic process along the way. This was a wonderful production which provided a great evening’s entertainment: a lightly humorous and intelligent reading of a play with plenty to say.

 

Leading the ensemble with all the power of the great lady herself, Geraldine Heyworth did a superb job of bringing Florence Foster Jenkins to life. I’m sure she’ll forgive me for mentioning in passing that she was definitely a much more svelte incarnation of the leather lunged songstress than the rather more ‘solid’ real life incarnation but it mattered not: here was a twinkling, confident performance which brought Florence into three dimensions. The way the play is put together - and this particular characterisation of the protagonist - steered a sensible path in painting a sympathetic portrait of the lady in question without resorting to cheap mockery or leaving a nasty taste in the mouth. Quite an achievement. Put upon young pianist Cosme McMoon was confidently played by Ryan Coe who also brought a rounded and realistic reading of the character to the stage. His initial wariness of being submerged into the milieu of Foster Jenkins and her bizarre coterie was nicely played and as he warmed to the situation, he took the audience with him. Bibulous English actor St Clair Byfield was a twinkling creation in the hands of Geoff Baron, edging along the boundary of camp quite magnificently! Potty Dorothy was another of Jean Leigh’s carefully considered creations and both she and Geoff successfully gave life to the would-be Diva’s helpmates. Fiery Maria, the incomprehensible housemaid completed the strange household lineup and Eilidh Hamer was a joy as the no-nonsense maid and the seriously unimpressed culture vulture Mrs Verrinder-Gedge was a sternly disapproving creation in the hands of Barbara Cilgrim.

 

Once again, the technical team at the Drama Club came up trumps with a couple of exquisitely well fashioned and intimate settings and provided the perfect arena to showcase the play. The larger than expected piano must have taken a bit of pushing and pulling to get on and off stage but was worked into the dramatic space magnificently. Well dressed stages are the rule rather than the exception at the Clubhouse Theatre, always made more remarkable given the relatively intimate space that the team have to play with. Even a couple of last minute lighting problems were worked around beautifully and the set never looked anything less than spot on: the addition of the projections at the rear of the stage were woven seamlessly into the drama and added a lovely extra touch too. Sound and lighting were pin sharp throughout and costumes - some of which were created by Geraldine (as was the case with Foster Jenkins herself) which was a nice touch - all hit the mark beautifully.

 

Establishing just the right tone is something that is also an Arts Club speciality and that certainly was the case here. Humour was left to develop at its own pace and it was never forgotten that there was also more to say about this curious lady’s cultural impact and the nature of the creative process in general. At times, I think I would have liked a broader brushed approach to both certain characterisations and the more straightforwardly comic scenes but that said, Lisa-marie probably judged the overall pace and feel of the play just right and didn’t overbalance the tone in favour of out and out hilarity. As a considered reading of the piece, it was hard to fault as a result.

 

My thanks go to all at the Arts Club for another fantastic evening’s entertainment and a wonderfully warm welcome. Gibraltar Street’s place as a little oasis in the cultural desert is assured! Long may it continue to be so.

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