Buckle up folks, we’re heading to London where audiences are flocking to see “Guys and Dolls” at the Bridge Theatre. It’s like Times Square exploded and landed on the banks of the Thames! The cast shimmy through the crowds on moving runways, making the 1950s show feel like it’s been injected with the energy of 2023.
This production is ready to take you on a journey, like, seriously immerse you. The scenery movers, dressed as New York’s Finest, part the audience like the Red Sea, so you can get up close and personal with the timeless tunes of Frank Loesser. Miss Adelaide (Marisha Wallace) and the Hot Box Girls take over one platform for “A Bushel and a Peck”, while Sarah Brown (Celinde Schoenmaker) and Sky Masterson (Andrew Richardson) rumba on another. And don’t worry, Daniel Mays’ irresistible Nathan Detroit makes an appearance on a third platform, for the show’s socko second-act climax of “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.”
Director Nicholas Hytner’s take on “Guys and Dolls” isn’t the only revival to take centre stage in the West End. Sophie Okonedo and Ben Daniels show us what’s what in a “Medea” that will leave you feeling as comfortable as a bullet train. Just across Charing Cross Road, Patsy Ferran gives an outstanding performance as the deeply damaged Blanche in a blistering “Streetcar Named Desire” at the Phoenix Theatre. And let’s not forget Janet McTeer in director-adapter Simon Stone’s heart-stopping contemporary take on “Phaedra”. Clearly, these shows deserve a life beyond London, a real theatre redistribution.
Sure, there were some not-so-great moments too. “A Little Life” (originally in Dutch) at the Harold Pinter Theatre was almost four hours of pain and suffering, leaving me feeling more like I needed therapy than a play. But who cares? With “Phaedra”, “Streetcar Named Desire”, “Medea”, and “Guys and Dolls” delivering timeless and innovative performances, it’s clear that we’ve been gifted with a renaissance of classic pieces in London.
The breakdown of McTeer’s tortured Helen, a member of Parliament, shadow cabinet secretary, and mother to precocious Declan (Archie Barnes) and resentful Isolde (Mackenzie Davis), is a hypnotic calamity. You know what’s coming, and yet, with McTeer, you hang on every appalling twist. Okonedo’s jaw set and stirs, while Ferran brings a steely spine to her Blanche. These are characters that are unforgettable, and actresses that are a force to be reckoned with.
Director Dominic Cooke’s take on “Medea” will leave you wanting to stay and help, and not because you feel bad. Okonedo’s ferocious portrayal proves why she’s a bona fide tragedian, delivering lines with such force that it’s as if she’s got heat vision.
“A Streetcar Named Desire” at the Phoenix Theatre is a thrilling cocktail of brash and expressive moments, orchestrated like Penn’s jazzy rhythms. Mescal’s Stanley is like male fragility incarnate, while Ferran is as strong as steel under the tulle and magnolias.
“Guys and Dolls” at the Bridge Theatre is the cherry on top. With Deborah Andrews and Bunny Christie’s gleeful costumes, and the shifting platforms designed by choreographers Arlene Phillips and James Cousins, it’s the kind of musical that really raises the roof. You’ll leave with a smile that won’t come off for a long, long time.
So, what are you waiting for? Get over to London, and see these classics reworked in a way that will leave you reeling, laughing and even crying. These shows are a perfect reminder of why we love theatre – it lifts the spirit, and sometimes, it leaves us with the kind of hangover we will be happy to nurse for days to come.
Serious News: washingtonpost
