'Company' at the Gielgud Theatre

'Company' by Stephen Sondheim has opened in the West End with a brand new production and some gender-swapped roles. I've never seen a fully staged production - costumes, scenery, lights - of 'Company' before but have seen an afternoon version as part of the 'Sondheim at 80' season in 2010 that starred Adrian Lester, Sophie Thompson and Haydn Gwynn, all in civvies. That was a 'traditional' version with Adrian Lester as Bobby considering marriage and commitment whereas this new version has Rosalie Craig as Bobbie and, you know what? I think it works better with a female lead.

It's a play very much of it's time - 1970 - on Bobbie's 35 birthday and all her friends are married but not necessarily happily. I can see how it would've been a breath of fresh air in 1970, challenging the traditional form of the musical with it's series of one act scenes with some narrative and a song all around the theme of marriage. Today, though, it seems a bit dated and that's where changing the gender of the lead player worked for me. Not only is there the question of settling down into a relationship (let's use that word rather than marriage) but there's also the biological clock ticking away. And, because it's updated, we also have a gay couple who are getting married (or possibly not).

I couldn't make up my mind about whether I liked the staging or not where most of the scenes took place in big neon light boxes that rolled on and off the stage effortlessly - I can't quite decide if they enhanced the production, detracted from it or were simply annoying. You have that nice big stage so use it, don't confine people in a claustrophobic box. Something that did annoy me was Rosalie Craig's red dress. Please people, give her a costume change? That red dress just really irritated me.

Rosalie Craig played Bobbie who was on stage for virtually the whole time, with friends played my Patti Lupone and Mel Giedroyc. I've seen Rosalie and Patti on stage before but this was the first time I'd seen Mel and I was quite impressed with her acting and (as you'd expect) her comic timing. It's odd to think that, as Chris mentioned, after the Sondheim nerds and theatre queens have seen the production, Mel's will be the biggest name on the bill but she's not very visible in the second half at all. I'm pleased we saw her.

The big draw for many people will be Patti Lupone, a Broadway legend who I saw in Sondheim's 'Gypsy' a decade ago. I saw her again five years ago in a short series of song and chat shows at Leicester Square Theatre. I liked her world-weary performance as the friend who's seen it all and then some, and her big song was 'Ladies Who Lunch' which was great fun.

I enjoyed the production and I'm pleased I saw it. It did rather make me want to see new productions of other Sondheim shows like 'Sunday in the Park'  and I'm sure that'll come back one day. In the meantime, enjoy 'Company'.

PS: I also liked the blue balloons that were all over the public areas of the theatre to mimic the poster for the show. Well done Gielgud!

'Blithe Spirit' at the Gielgud Theatre

Have you been to see 'Blithe Spirit' with Angela Lansbury yet? No? What on earth are you waiting for? Scoot on over to the Gielgud Theatre as quick as your legs (and public transport) can carry you and get prepared for some big ole laughs, chortles and general jolliment. Yes, I enjoyed it - I even laughed out loud!

Miss Lansbury hasn't played in the West End for decades so that alone makes this worth seeing and she is well worth seeing. We managed to get tickets in the sixth row right in the middle so had an excellent view of the proceedings. I've never seen this play on stage but saw the film years ago so, although not terribly familiar with it, am reasonably aware of the central plot. Having said that, I totally forgot the surprise ending so won't spoil it for you.

It's the tale of a writer and his wife (Charles Edwards and Janie Dee) who live in a nice country house with the requisite servants for the late 1930s. They're hosting a small dinner party after which the local medium (Angela Lansbury) has been invited to demonstrate her powers. Unbeknown to her, he's going to write a book about a fraudulent medium so wants some first hand observations to include in the book. She accidentally summons the ghost of his first wife (Jemima Rooper) who only he can see or hear which leads to all sorts of confusion and mayhem. Then the medium is invited back to try to undo her work... and that's where it gets complicated.

I don't know why I'm always so surprised when I enjoy a Noel Coward play but I am. I should have learned by now really. There are the usual witty exchanges between characters who are all terribly urbane and worldly, of course, as well as some more knock about fun when the ghost appears and vases start floating in the air. It's all really good fun and a well constructed play with a nice set of a country drawing room with comfy-looking furniture and big curtains just waiting to billow in the ghostly breeze.

Janie Dee (who I saw a couple of months ago in a Sondheim show at the St James's Theatre) was on top form with an accent that wouldn't just cut glass, it could easily cut a diamond or two. Her timing was excellent as she milked every scene for every laugh as she swished around in her evening dress and day-time skirts. She looked right in character and would fit into a 1930s drawing room effortlessly. Charles Edwards was also good but a little restrained next to the perfect pitch of Janie. She also out-acted Jemima Rooper who was flouncy and pouty throughout - her character as the ghost of the first wife, obviously - but Jemima didn't quite stand up against the rest of the cast.

It was also nice to see the rather portly Simon Jones as the Doctor. To me, of course, he will always be Arthur Dent in his dressing gown in the TV series of 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. Nice to see him again.

Angela Lansbury was, of course, terrific as the dotty medium with her over the top wardrobe and facial expressions. She's played this role before of course (and I don't mean on Broadway) when she played the drunken writer of salacious novels in the film 'Death on the Nile'. This was Angela having fun and enjoying herself going slightly over the top in a role in which she'd not only allowed to go over the top but is positively encouraged to do so. Whether going into a trance or talking to thin air thinking she's talking to the ghost who's actually behind her, she did it all with great comic timing and cheeky sparkle. She knows she's over the top and is sharing the joke with us. She's a delight!

I'd forgotten about the ending so won't spoil it for you if you plan to go - and you should.  It's a great production with a lavish set and costumes, all designed to entertain. A nice touch when the final curtain went down was to project a portrait of Noel Coward onto the  curtain as we all left. Well done whoever thought of that.

An added bonus was that I was definitely in the younger half of the audience on the night. Some old-time fans of Miss Lansbury were obviously out in force to see her again, such as the white haired geezer behind me who laughed every time she raised an eyebrow. Now that's loyalty.