TOPS TREATS US TO MY FAIR LADY
How wonderful it was to see the Thameside Theatre full to bursting at the Saturday night show of TOPS ‘My Fair Lady’ (17th March). This is the story that was made famous by Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn in the lead roles, so TOPS had something to live up to, and they did not disappoint. From the outset of Act 1 there seemed to be a team spirit than ran through the cast. It is not easy to get over 50 people on the stage at one time and yes I did count them! The choreography throughout the show was superb, to say West End standard. The cast were very well drilled in the dancing scenes and credit must be given to the choreography and to Dance Captain Kate Pettit. At the opening of the act the cast seemed to be elated from the word go and gave the piece such energy, this is important so that the audience are drawn into the musical and feel part of the action.
It was not long before Henry Higgins was on the scene (played by Reg Wheeler). This was a performance of professional quality, Reg understood the part of Higgins very well and it looked like an old slipper to him, his mannerisms were just right, he oozed confidence and took TOPS to another level. Reg sang very well, the songs are not easy to sing as Rex Harrison talked his way through them in the stage and film production. We meet Eliza who as we all know is the flower girl that has just encountered Henry on the streets of Covent Garden. Eliza (played by Maria Blakley) has a good stage presence and very good command of the cockney language plus a beautiful voice, which comes more to the fore later in the production. Henry having met his friend Colonel Pickering suggests that he can teach Eliza to speak “proper English” and pass her off as a princess, the bet is taken up by the Colonel (played by Harry Doyle) a gem of a part and handled well by Harry who gave the performance that did the part justice.
Eliza turns up at Higgins house to ask for English lessons, meanwhile her father Alfred Doolittle is being thrown out of the public house and not for the first time, this is the “Little bit of Luck” scene which John Hunting (who played Doolittle) gave a very fine performance, I have seen this part played by smaller rounder men, and was not sure that a tall Doolittle would work, but I was wrong. John made this part his own and exhumed fun from it. Dawn Peat who played Mrs Hopkins and tells Doolittle of Eliza sending for her things, but has asked for no clothes! gave a nice cameo role as usual a very solid performance from Dawn. On hearing this Doolittle goes to Higgins house to confront him. Higgins sends Doolittle on his way with five pounds and gives him the opportunity to lecture for an American. We see the Eliza go through many forms of speech therapy, such as speaking with a mouth full of marbles. Leading us to the famous “Rain in Spain” number, this I thought was exceptionally good and we heard for the first time an Eliza that was faultless in her vocal capacity. Higgins decides to try Eliza out at the Ascot races and takes her along to his mother’s box. Mrs. Higgins (played by José Webb) gave a very sincere performance for once a non-singing part for José but she showed us that she is a very competent actress.
Arriving at Ascot we also meet Mrs. Eynsford-Hill (played by Brenda Sansom). This for me is one of the most underrated parts; it requires the austere and regal performance and Brenda did not disappoint us. Although the part is small you need to be able to keep the character going throughout the show and Brenda was superb at this, a very accomplished performance. Freddy (played by Simon Lambert) loves the way in which Eliza does the small talk. I can honestly say that this is the best part I have seen Simon do in a long time, his timing was impeccable and his singing was of a very high quality. We end act one at the Ascot races, this I am afraid was a little disappointing, after what had gone on before. I admire the directors for putting ladies in men’s costumes and I think it worked. However, the first part of the Gavotte did not. This is a very stylised piece and I am sure the directors told the chorus that they must all be in time, but it was a bit sloppy, heads were turning at different times and some of the chorus were not concentrating on the action therefore they were uncoordinated. Having said this when we came to the “Dover” part of the Gavotte the chorus had picked up and this was a wonderful end to the number. I must also say that the costumes for the Gavotte scene were absolutely superb; everyone’s costume fitted and looked great. Whilst on the subject of costumes I would say that throughout the production the costumes, shoes and accessories were all of a very high standard.
The chorus obviously had felt that they had not given a good performance in the Gavotte and were a little low on energy at the start of Act 2, when we arrive at the Embassy Ball, it was a little slow and stilted to start, however we soon picked up with Colonel Pickering’s song which was well handled by Harry Doyle. It was also noticeable that Eliza was very upset that Higgins and Pickering were congratulating themselves. This led us to the famous sequence between Higgins and Eliza when she throws his “blasted slippers” at him. Eliza decides to leave and we have a nice scene with her and Freddie and again with Mrs. Higgins. Eliza goes back to her old haunts and sees that she cannot go back to the life she led before. On her way to Mrs. Higgins she meets up with her father who tells her that he is going to get married. We are then taken into one of the most famous numbers of the show “Get me to the Church on time”. This was the best number for the chorus in the show, it was excellently choreographed and the chorus seemed to come alive at this point. Eliza goes to Mrs. Higgins to tell her of her plight and the way in which her son has been treating her, whereupon Higgins arrives and after some autocation realises that he cannot live without her. Higgins last scene “I’ve grown accustomed to her face” was very poignant and I loved the sound coming from the gramophone of Eliza and Higgins, it seemed very original.
The other parts played by Alan Flint, Mick Messenger, Rene Druett, Graham Borthwick-Jones, Ken Baker, Barbara Spencer and Trevor Povey, who I thought was very convincing as the bartender, were all competently played throughout the show. This was a very enjoyable evening, a view with which the audience seemed to concur. I am not sure where TOPS can go to after this performance; it was worthy of a West End production. Well done to Gary and Ann Sullivan who yet again have brought life back to the Thameside Theatre and to Richard Wade for his faultless conducting of the orchestra. If you missed this show - shame on you. Don’t miss next years!
(Signed) John Scowen
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