The King and I

The King & I is one of my favourite musicals and CAODS did not disappoint.

There were some excellent performances . Lyndon Warnsby's interpretation of the King was perfect . His timing never faltered & his comic delivery was highly amusing .  Anger & emotion were delivered  in an equally flawless way. And Imogen Phillips  as Anna Leonowens gave an equally strong performance, with great repartee between her & the King . Kate Fenn gave a very believable portrayal of the King's head wife - her delivery of Something Wonderful was fabulous .

I loved the duet between Ebony Gladding (Tuptim) and James Kelly (lun Tha) and David Anderson was a first rate Chulalongkorn.

Costumes were not hired but made by the company to a very high standard . The scenery, though basic, suited the land of Siam . I particularly liked the silhouette effect.

Movement generally was very simple ,however, I really enjoyed the ballet which was very well executed .

A few points for consideration:

There were occasions when the actors slipped into local accents.

Not sure about nail varnish ....

On occasion the excellent orchestra was too loud over dialogue as were the children when playing .

Peter Harbrook & Peter Merrick delivered their roles well though I haven’t seen the part of Sir Edward Ramsay portrayed in that way before . My own preference is for a stiff, upper crust English gentleman.

David Owen Smith was the loyal Kralahome but I much preferred his dominant angry persona when the King had died, for which he blamed Anna, rather than the more kindly servant he portrayed.

I would have liked to hear the songs sung with an accent where appropriate to complement the dialogue .

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this production . Very well done !

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