Tristan Bates Theatre, London
***
Plenty of long stemmed cigarettes, bourbon on the rocks and
bed-hopping contribute to a world of 1920’s glamour for Jeremy Kingston’s Making Dickie Happy. A tentative
exploration into the meeting of Agatha Christie (Helen Duff) and Noel Coward
(Phineas Pett) on the cusp of their subsequent stardom awaits avid fans of both
authors.
The plot is simple; a chance meeting of Christie, Coward and
his friends at a small hotel that they all frequented in reality. With witty
repartee, the audience discovers how Lord Mountbatten’s “splendid idea” helped
Christie catapult to fame as a writer – and her own internal battles around the
morality of the intentional deception of her readers. Whilst Christie struggles
with the whitest of lies, Coward and his friends; Lord Mountbatten, Tono and
J-Boy thrive on a web of deceit and enthral the audience with their creative
opinions on relationships, and their common fascination with the eminently
attractive waiter, Cyril (Rob Pomfret).
The writing has a stichomythic quality and keeps the
audience waiting for the next riposte, but the constant wit means that more
serious subjects, such as Christie’s dilemma with deliberate deception, lose
some of their importance. Fans of Coward’s work however, will be impressed,
especially with Pett’s delivery and portrayal of the frankly charming young man.
The acting is good; a notable performance from Duff. Her interpretation
of a nervous but excitable Christie will please fans and showed the dilemma
facing a woman, excited by the prospect of writing murder mysteries but subjugated
by her personal life as “a wife and mother with other priorities”.
David Alderman (Tono) and Matthew Alexander (J-Boy) give
solid performances and James Phelips shines as the clearly emotionally
repressed Lord Mountbatten. His constant insistence that he loves the absent
Edwina are amusing and yet slightly concerning as his plot for Christie’s novel
is revealed.
Pomfret reprises his role as Cyril and does well with minimal
speech but top class eyebrow raising; his dishy good looks and seemingly
endless supply of alcohol go down a treat with Coward and Co and his outwardly
innocent reactions to tongue in cheek demands for “more cock...tails” are
always followed with a cheeky wink at the audience.
Pett is the star of the show however. A booming RP accent
and his fanciful musings catapult the audience into his fairly idyllic world.
Despite his nervousness at the beginning of the show, Pett settled into
character well and delivered his lines with a (very camp) grace. His
interactions with other characters, particularly Tono, were fantastic and
demonstrated an open man, confident in his homosexuality - but only in his own
group of friends.
Overall, it’s an interesting piece. Whilst the concept is
good, it’s a fairly slow-burner and the demand on the audience’s attention to
the writing itself, is high. It does, however, give a good insight into a world
affected irrevocably after the First World War, and the small flourishing of
artistic endeavours. It’s just a shame perhaps that the surface glamour does
not seem to be exploring the hidden, darker depths of the various personalities
– but as I leave into a cold March evening, with the rain pouring and a long
walk back through London’s centre, I think of the well represented “bright
young things” and long for their positive outlook, not to mention a warming
glass of whiskey for the journey home.
This production runs until 30 March 2013.
For more information: http://www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk/Making_Dickie_Happy.asp
@TristanBates
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