One of the drawbacks of being a regular – or even occasional – theatre-goer in London is the unreliability of the transport system. Events have to be planned with almost military precision. Trainline has to be constantly checked for changing circumstances, ranging from a swan on the line to sadly something far more serious. Seeing the dreaded phrase ‘Delayed' – without a time attached to it – which is code for ‘cancelled, but we haven't the heart to tell you yet'. It makes for a more difficult evening, as was the case last night, when some communication issue much earlier in the day had ironically driven a coach and horses through the timetable for the capital. As a result, I was not in the best of moods when I arrived at the theatre, a situation that was not immediately improved with a slightly disorganised and chaotic process for getting people into their seats. Having decided to stage the show almost in the round – with some people on comfy sofas even closer to the action (and occasionally referred to by the cast as they moved a prop around) – we had people in both Row A and Row AA, but on different sides of the stage. Confusion could have been averted by having more people at the main entrance, directing traffic.
However, we had been invited to a party (a conceit that worked very well) and so, to continue misquoting William Congreve, as ‘music soothes the savage beast', Sedos were on safe ground with Stephen Sondheim's classic tale of love and marriage, ‘Company' (although, given the complexity of the score – well managed by a talented orchestra situated off stage and led by Musical Director Thomas Marples – and the intricacy of the lyrics, savage beast may be appropriate, even if the actual phrase from Congreve's play refers to soothing a savage breast). Using the small space to their advantage – kudos to the clever staging decisions taken by Emily Phillips and her team – even the walk onto the set was deployed to create a party atmosphere, as the audience had to pass cast members chatting and drinking in the corridor (there was also a lovely poster with photos of the cast enjoying Bobby's birthday). Additionally, some lucky audience members were virtually seated on what was a crowded stage – there had to be places for all the cast to sit, lie down (on a bed) or stand (at a bar area, replete with bottles and crisps). This added to the almost claustrophobic atmosphere, which fitted well with the themes of the show, as Bobby is almost besieged by his ‘Company' of married friends, competing with each other (over gifts, potential partners – ‘Have I got a girl for you' – his time) and pressing him to make the same commitment they have, even if it has not always worked out for the best. The ensemble numbers – from the opening title number to the second act's superb ‘Side by Side/What would we do without you?' – were well managed, cast members singing out to the audience, at times almost ignoring Bobby in the middle.
And Sondheim does not come down on one side or the other, in terms of the viability and validity of marriage. A spectrum of different types of relationship are presented to Bobby, who seems unclear as what he wants (Will Garrood did well, both dramatically and musically – notably in his two big torch song numbers, one in each act - providing the steadier centre to a show that has less of a narrative and more a set of shifting scenarios, as part of a commitment cabaret; in this version, given the cast provide a second ‘audience', literally when the three potential girlfriends scold Bobby with ‘You could drive a person crazy', it is not always clear whether each group is simply performing at his party or that the party is provoking memories of other social occasions). Aided by George Furth's occasionally caustic book – ‘You have to want to marry somebody. Not some body' – and pointed musical numbers – ‘Marry Me a Little' as a case in point – we are taken on an occasional comedic, occasionally critical tour of both his dating scene and his married friends' relationships.
In the case of the former, his desire to date and marry – he talks about wanting to have married at least two other characters and offers himself to Amy at her most vulnerable, after she has just decided that she is not ‘Getting Married Today' (the aptly named Anna Toogood was superb in this moment, as this is an exceptionally difficult song to sing, let alone act along with it) – is cleverly juxtaposed by two of the three meetings with April (the sweet but dumb airhostess, played amusingly by Charlotte Field), Kathy (Yasmin Devlin-Dean) and the powerful Marta (Adrianna Cordero-Marino). Kathy is the one that got away, and her surprise announcement that she is to marry provokes an angry retort from Bobby; in contrast, bookending each of these more dramatic vignettes with a rousing ‘Another 100 people', Marta is comfortable playing the field, exploring each new opportunity and not seeking to settle down. Sondheim poses the same alternatives with Bobby's group of males friends, many of whom seem to be in reality partners of his female friends (but who offer contrasting advice in the soulful ‘Sorry-Grateful' and the more amusing ‘Have I got a girl for you', dancing around Bobby while wearing their partners' coats). Even at the end it is not clear what Bobby wants – the competitive commitment of Sarah and Harry (an amusingly physical Lauren Clarke and Ashton Charge, breaking promises and spirits as they nitpick their way to a loving conclusion), the more traditional relationship of ‘square' Jenny and David (Tom Harper's turn, from silly and stoned to more demanding husband – and Helen Parson's meek acquiescence – was well done), the cynical skepticism of regularly married Joanne (Natalie Emden), seeking to avoid becoming one of the ‘Ladies who Lunch'. Or something of his own. As a single man of a certain age, no longer questioned as to whether he will get married or not (something of a burden in a bygone era!), this musical still has something to say, even if there is a deliberate refusal to neatly package it at the end.
And, to their collective credit – in a show laced with enthusiasm and ingenuity, but with a retro feel (from costume and set design to the fact that, contrary to the most recent West End version, the starry gender swap with Patti Lupone and Jonathan Bailey in award winning form, they returned to the original version, with Bobby as a male character and the others reverting accordingly – I have to say that I missed the gay aspect of that version, Jamie for Amy, as well as the sight of Richard Fleeshman's air steward) – they easily escape the long shadow cast by that cast, to produce something that felt both faithful and yet fresh. So, catch it if you can – or if musicals (and Sondheim specifically) are not your thing, Sedos have an equally difficult dramatic challenge coming later in the year, adapting Mark Haddon's Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time from 14-18 July. I certainly felt uplifted heading out to face the transport chaos once again – why wouldn't I…I had been in excellent ‘Company'.
Review: David Brown