Dear England - Review

Prince Edward Theatre, London

****

Written by James Graham

Directed by Rupert Goold

The cast of Dear England

When the National Theatre staged James Graham’s Dear England in the Olivier earlier this year, it appeared to herald a flood of stage plays about the beautiful game. Had the drama on the pitch become fair game for the dramatist’s pen? Not exactly. In fact the wealth of dramas at the Edinburgh Fringe and beyond seemed to document the seismic shift in how soccer is managed, supported and perceived in this country. The seeds of this change are explored in Graham’s play, which observes the first years of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England manager, which following universal critical acclaim now transfers to the Prince Edward in the West End.

Perennial nice-guy, Southgate is given the impossible role of manager following a shake-up at executive level. He is haunted and constantly reminded of his penalty failure at the Euros quarter final in 1996 but accepts the role on the condition that some changes are brought in with the training. Southgate has realised that despite excellent talented players through the decades, England had yet triumph on the world stage since 1966. In searching for a different approach, he enlists Dr Pippa Grange (Dervla Kirwan taking over from Gina McKee in this transfer), a successful psychotherapist who endeavours to help the young team face up to their fears and feelings. Most people are sceptical at this point, but gradually Grange breaks through and nurtures trust and comradeship within the team. What is more important is that England becomes more and more successful, albeit without actually winning a match. But Southgate is playing the long game. Before England can win, they need to learn how to lose.

Graham's drama, while ostensibly about football, is in fact a state-of-the-nation play. Its backdrop shows a country struggling with its identity, suffering governmental chaos and desperately in need of unification. Woven through with comic moments and the high drama on the pitch, there are episodes of soul-searching poignancy, as the young players address their fears and learn to bond.  At the centre of all this is Southgate, played by a revelatory Joseph Fiennes, whose post-Covid open letter to the nation - Dear England - called upon the supporters to remember that the players are fans too, and that there is no place for racism when we are all aiming for the same result.

Directed by Rupert Goold, Dear England takes on an epic status. Es Devlin's clever set design, dominated by a giant illuminated stadium halo, is a rhapsody of digital projection and old-school scenery shifting. It's the first time in recent memory that the Prince Edward has played host to a straight play, but Goold's production has all the drama, choreography and spectacle of major musical - just no songs - save for snatches of Bittersweet Symphony, Vindaloo and Sweet Caroline.

Movement directors Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf add to the drama by creating gripping physical scenes that represent everything from training to penalty shoot-outs with a remarkably limber cast playing the team. Part of the joy in this production is watching the characters unfold, whether it's Darragh Hand as Marcus Rashford, embracing this opportunity to give something back to the community or Will Close as an adorably hesitant Harry Kane, gradually learning to accept his role as team captain. There's excellent support too from Paul Thornley as coach Mike Webster, who primarily stands against Southgate's 'touchy-feely' approach but reluctantly warms to the burgeoning team spirit it engenders.

Dear England is a sharply designed, feel-good production that captures the spirit of reform that Southgate has initiated. There's no doubt it will likely attract - and rightly so - a whole new audience to the West End. As such, this might be one of the most important London transfers since Declan Rice moved from West Ham to Arsenal.

Reviewed by Paul Vale

Booking until 13th January 2024

Photo credit: Marc Brenner

Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations - Review

Prince Edward Theatre, London

*****

Music and lyrics from The Legendary Motown Catalog

Book by Dominique Morisseau

Directed by Des McAnuff

The company of Ain't Too Proud

In possibly the finest jukebox musical created, Ain’t Too Proud is a slick take on The Tempations’ rise from the backstreets of Detroit to become the world's most successful R&B group. Transferring to London from Broadway and with Dominique Morisseau's book drawn from Otis Williams’ history of The Temptations, the show picks out the key moments of the group’s arc, liberally interspersing narrative with numbers - and it is a tribute to the cast and crew of this West End iteration that their take on these Motown classics is performed immaculately.

That the first act is perhaps slightly too long and the second, occasionally, too schmaltzy are minor flaws in what is otherwise an evening of perfect musical theatre. Des McAnuff’s direction steers the story from the group’s early years, supporting The Supremes, through the guiding influences of Motown’s Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson. With The Temptations' journey going on to skirt the complexities of the Vietnam War and America’s Civil Rights evolution, their songs were never less than on point.

Sifiso Mazibuko leads the cast as Williams, The Temptations’ founder and backbone, with a performance that is energising and compelling. William’s assembly of the five Michigan boys who were to take the group to their first No 1 hit, My Girl is slickly told, with all of the cast proving to be outstanding performers. Close your eyes and it *is* The Temptations on stage, with particular mention to Tosh Wanogho-Maud who gives a frenzied interpretation of David Ruffin, a man whose presence contributed much to The Temptations’ meteoric rise and equally to Cameron Bernard Jones whose bass baritone take on Melvin Franklin seems to reach a booming register that’s lower than the Elizabeth Line, such is his vocal gift.

The evening is more than just a five-star whirl through The Temptations' greatest hits. The show credits the music and lyrics as hailing from ‘The Legendary Motown Catalog’ and it is a mark of both the style and largesse of this production that midway through the first act there is a medley of hits from The Supremes. Credit here to Holly Liburd as Diana Ross and her two female-co performers – the brief glimpse that they offer of the legendary girl-band is another of the show's treats. 

More than just the actors though, Sergio Trujillo's Tony-winning choreography is breathtaking in its poise, pinpoint accuracy and vision that effectively transfers the show’s 1960s ethos into a 21st century auditorium. Back in 2004 Trujillo and McAnuff helmed Jersey Boys to greatness on both sides of the Atlantic. Their jukebox genre genius has only improved over the years.  

Situated upstage, Matt Smith directs his 11 piece band magnificently. Their handling of the  classic melodies is pitch perfect and whether the tunes are backing the cast or are played as standalone motifs that segue the story from chapter to chapter, Smith and his band are flawless.

This is a bold production to take to a major West End stage in the current climate. A large performing company fused with multi-million dollar staging and projections requires investing producers with nerves of steel. But when the show is this good, it is money well spent. 

Ain't Too Proud at the Prince Edward Theatre - the brightest sunshine on a cloudy day.

Booking until 1st October

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Miss Saigon

Prince Edward Theatre, London

****

Book and lyrics by Alain Boublil

Concept, book and music by Claude Michel Schonberg

Lyrics by Richard Maltby Jnr

Additional lyrics by Michael Mahler

Directed by Laurence Connor

Jon Jon Briones as The Engineer

Cameron Mackintosh is the consummate showman. His re-launch of Miss Saigon, some 25 years after it first landed on a London stage has already recouped its reported £4.5million investment and it appears that not a penny has been wasted. His excellent cast is large and immaculately rehearsed, whilst the design and technical wizardry of his creative team is further evidence of the capital's world class reputation in stagecraft. 

The show re-works Puccini’s classic tale from Madam Butterfly, setting it amongst the melee of the fall of Saigon in 1975, and introducing The Engineer, an (anti) hero Eurasian pimp and one of the finest characters to be written for musical theatre in recent years. A man whose only loyalty is to himself and to whom knowing and exploiting the weaknesses of all men is second nature, he dreams of a new life in the USA. His portrayal in this production by US actor Jon Jon Briones is a revelation. Briones holds the audience in the palm of his hand throughout, with his act two showstopper The American Dream being a glorious comment upon Western greed and cynicism. 

Eva Noblezada plays Kim, the virginal Saigon bar girl caught up in a whirlwind romance with GI Chris, and who falls pregnant just as her lover is flown out of Vietnam with the US withdrawal. Noblezada, who incredibly is making her professional stage debut in the role, is gorgeously convincing and fabulously voiced as she evolves from timid country girl to fiercely protective mother. Her character’s story is not as striking as her performance however and there is too much of her journey that is clichéd melodrama, with plotlines that defy credibility. 

The beauty of this show though lies in its staging and in the talent that Mackintosh has assembled on one stage. Bob Avian’s original choreography has been re-worked and the clarity of his vision is no better demonstrated than in the phenomenal routines of a flag waving communist army in act one’s The Morning Of The Dragon, contrasted with the dollar-bill and Cadillac extravaganza of the second half’s The American Dream, both numbers being sensational. Amidst much (occasionally tiresome) musical motif repetition, other tunes stand out, notably The Movie In My Mind, sung by Kim and fellow bargirl GiGi a perceptive performance from Rachelle Ann Go,  whose plaintive lyrics speak too of the dream to flee their Saigon poverty and build a new life in the USA, the land of the movies.If The Engineer is the show’s best creation, then this number is arguably one of its best songs.

Miss Saigon also bears a nod to the legacy of the Bui Doi, the mixed-race kids that feckless GIs left behind. Act two opens with Bui Doi, an anthemic number that champions these youngsters’ cause and in which, 25 years ago, John played by Peter Polycarpou broke hearts at Drury Lane as he sang. Today’s John is played by Hugh Maynard and the song is a disappointing rush, set to a beat that is at odds with the melody’s pulse. As with Boublil and Schonberg's Les Miserables, the entire production is set to music, with nearly every line of dialog in rhyme which often proves a naïve distraction. Along with the 2 minute gimmick of an on-stage helicopter these are a reminder of just how far audience expectations have grown over the last two decades. Gimmicks are out and strong songs are in – hence the rise of the juke box musical across both Broadway and the West End. Audiences want to tap their feet.

Immaculate to look at for sure, no doubt Miss Saigon will provide employment for many and will also channel much tourist wealth into both the London economy and the (deserving) coffers of Mackintosh whose philanthropic support of musical theatre is nothing short of remarkable. It’s not a must see by any means, but it is undoubtedly one hell of a show!

Booking until 2015