'A Little Night Music' at The Chocolate Factory

Tonight I was treated to seeing 'A Little Night Music' at the Choccy Factory with Chris and Angela (continuing my education in Sondheim). I've never seen it before and only know 'Send In The Clowns' so I didn't know what to expect at all. I was pleasantly surprised, firstly by the Choccy Factory actually having numbered seating for a change (and what low benches they are) and then by the play itself which was really quite charming in an understated way.

It's a story of lost loves and lusts set in turn of the century Sweden, based on an Ingmar Bergman film and directed by Trevor Nunn. The set design was simple, with mainly an empty stage but with screens that acted as doors or walls on three sides, facilitating a lot of fluidity and movement, and an occasional bed or rug evoking a room or a lawn. I also liked the title artwork in the motif of a Christmas tree, perfect for this winter season which is already sold out till it closes in March.

I liked the interplay between the leading couple of Alexander Hanson as Frederik (the middle-aged, middle class lawyer) and Hannah Waddingham as Desiree (the slightly shocking actress and femme fatale he loved 14 years ago) who meet again when her play comes to town. They worked well together and I can easily see them as lovers - I was convinced. I was less convinced by Frederik's 18 year old second wife and Desiree's crass army lover. And Frederik's son just seemed like a manic Hugh Lawrie on a bad day going into one of his more stereotyped comic turns.

I quite liked the generational thing of having the children (all the teens, including Frederik's wife), the adults (the main characters) and the third generation represented by Desiree's mother, played by Maureen Lipman in a wheelchair (not sure why she was in a wheelchair). I liked Maureen, with her perfect timing, playing a woman who slept with Kings and Dukes and secured her fortune at the expense of true love and happiness. She might have been the oldest character but she has the wit and wisdom to keep them all in their place. She has great comic timing and made me smile.

I enjoyed it. There are some very tender songs and some thought-provoking themes. It was quite calming in a way and sedately paced at least up to the final farce scenes of people running round looking for one another (and yes, we did get a trousers-falling-down scene). If it wasn't already sold out then I think this is a production I'd quite like to see again since I'd probably spot nuances I didn't see tonight. Well done to the Choccy Factory on another excellent production.