'Paradise Found' at the Menier Chocolate Factory

On Saturday night we went to the Menier Chocolate Factory to see 'Paradise Found', the world premiere of a brand new musical produced by Hal Prince. It opened last week and has only been running for a few days so it still has a 'new' feel to it.

It's based on an Austrian book with the rather preposterous tale of the ageing Shah of Persia losing his mojo and going to late 19th Century Vienna to try to find it, which he does by falling for the Empress of Austria and ending up having a very noisy session with a look-a-like in the local brothel. That's the rather long set-up to the play with the second act exploring the immediate and longer-term consequences 15 years later. It's an American production and everyone associated with it seems to have a gazillion awards on Broadway and elsewhere so rather than pretend I know anything about them really, I'll point you to Chris'n'That who'll do the job for me. Oh, and the music was all in waltz time by some jobbing musician called Strauss.

The story hangs together around the character of the Chief Eunuch played my Mandy Patimkin as we move from Persia to Vienna and back again 15 years later. Much as it's fun to see the star of 'The Princess Bride' just a few feet away and see him sweat under the lights in the rather warm small theatre, I wasn't always entirely sure what I was watching and, I think, in part that was down to Mandy.

I don't know why he's decided that a eunuch walks in small footsteps rather than striding out like anyone else, but it instantly made me think of Gilbert & Sullivan and something like 'The Mikado' where the geishas take lots of tiny footsteps to move around the stage. So, that plus the eastern clothing and turbans sent me off down the wrong route. Then towards the end of the production when all the characters came on stage dressed for a trip to Persia I just thought of concert party let loose with a dressing up trunk.

I know I'm being a bit petty but it didn't have a 'feel' of it's own, it was a bit of this and a bit of that and the gray perspex set made me think of Studio 54 so that was a trifle distracting as well. There was an absence of spaces for the audience to clap and respond to what was happening on stage so I don't feel I fully embraced the production.

Clearly, it's only been on for a few days and the thing is still finding its feet and I hope it does. I quite like the idea of seeing it on Broadway in a year or so when the actors start living the characters.