'The Harder They Come' at The Playhouse

'The Harder They Come' is the great stage version of 'The Harder They Come' the movie from 1971. I saw it at The Barbican in March and then again at The Playhouse after it transferred in June. It's an odd mix of serious themes and ends with a gun fight and death, and some of the most joyous music ever created, sending us out into the night on a tremendous high. I wanted to see it again so that's what happened last night, and some good skankin' was had by all!

It's the same cast, same songs, same quips, same threats of violence and same euphoria at the end. It was marvellous! Rolan Bell is a charasmatic leading man with great stage presence and voice and a very energetic dancer - he's all over the place flirting with Pinky and Precious and bigging it up with Elsa, his love.

Pinky (in the form of Susan Lawson-Reynolds) is, of course, a true star, decked out in huge Afro, red nylon mini-dress and white kinky boots, dance-hall queen and make-believe radio-reporter. The police chief (Chris Tummings) once again called us all 'hugly' for hiding Ivan while he's on the run - I think this is one the things about the show that I really like, the audience interaction, with the players leaving the stage every now and then to appear in the house and, at the start, to be strolling round the theatre as if it's all an extension of the stage. And Chris does an excellent version of Toots' 'Pressure Drop'. My only disappointment was that when we were invited to take a 15 minute ganga break at the interval there was only vanilla and strawberry ice-cream and no ganga flavour...

This is a great show, original and with a great score, an energetic cast and some charismatic players that send the audience away at the end in a euphoric state after the mega-mix encore, so why is it closing? I really don't understand that, especially when you think about some of the stuff still playing in the West End.

Why aren't people flooding to see this great production? It can only be that the audience for reggae isn't very large in the theatre-going public. Ignoring the reggae beats, the songs are excellent songs in their own right - I can't understand why Jimmy Cliff isn't a bigger star and why his songs aren't covered more often since they're really good, well constructed songs. I'm perplexed by it all. But it's been a privilege to see the show three times and leave it each time on a ridiculous high, skankin' out into the night with my head full of sunny reggae tunes.

I took a couple of photos (I know I shouldn't, but only before the show started and during the encore) and bought a tee shirt with the legend 'I Was Here... I Disappear' across front and back (to celebrate Ivan's motto while he was on the run). That will remind me of the show when it closes - I was there!

Now, go and see it and have the time of your life!