No 40 -- Spring 1993 Edited by Michael Walters
A curate's egg – some very good performances, others not so good. Clive Paget's production was, as usual, great fun, but had the flavour of an end of term rag. The curtain was lifted as the audience were entering, and Utopians (both sexes) were meandering around the stage, doing in what came nat'rally. No overture was used, and Colin Rosario took the music with plenty of pace, but was a bit short on control – the orchestra were far too loud and often drowned the soloists. The sets were a stylised series of cut–outs, umbrella–shaped palm trees and a cardboard Taj Mahal (Eh, what?) for Act 1; a cardboard palace for Act 2.
John Tripp carried the big role of Paramount with dignity and humanity. It was the best performance he has given so far, and it was good to see him get a role that he could really get his teeth into. This was the sort of performance I have long wanted to see him give. Georgia Paget's performance as Lady Sophy was brilliant, the maturity of the delivery of her dialogue was professional.
The chorus was smaller than I can recall, and virtually everyone had individual bits to do. Thus Melene became Mrs. Calynx, Salata was the Second Housemaid (but not with only one leg!), Phylla the Royal Musician; Capt. Corcoran had a wife – Lady Buttercup (the incomparable Jo Claydon). Tarara had a "moll" (a quite unnecessary and not very successful touch); there was a photographer who took snaps at appropriate (and inappropriate) moments, a snake charmer (who caught a snake during the opening chorus), etc. The four troopers and most of the "Flowers" doubled as islanders.
Act 2 began before the music, with the "moll" (Susan Morton) distracting the attention of the palace guard, so that Tarara could creep in and set a fuse and bomb under the throne. But the King later saw the fuse trailing untidily across the floor, pulled it away and threw it offstage harmlessly. Fitzbattleaxe then entered, and had a little rehearsal to a 78rpm record of (?Gigli) singing "Your tiny hand is frozen". Finding the top notes too high, he turned the speed down to a comfortable pitch. Ian Ellery was struggling with the role of Fitzbattleaxe, to which he was not really suited, and I suspect he got the part as a result of having done a good audition of "A tenor all singers above" which he sang extremely well. For the rest, his music was competent, but his dialogue stiff.
Ed Mulligan was a splendid kilted Lord Dramaleigh with an almost convincing Scottish accent. Peter Murphy sang Goldbury strongly, but his assumed Welsh accent was less successful. Adam Craske did excellently what he had to do as Captain Corcoran. The other Flowers of Progress were less successfully characterised. Calynx (John Franks) was a slouching spiv with braces, fag in mouth, and handlebars moustache. His wife (Amanda Pask) rather fancied herself as a lady of Utopian fashion. Philip Hollman was an underpar Tarara in tweeds and spectacles, who delivered his curses without conviction. It might have been that he was trying to underplay, but it came over as if he couldn't act.
Scaphio and Phantis were rather shaggy creatures, rather like Tenniel's drawings of the Lion and the Unicorn, except that the Unicorn (Phantis) was actually a curious green bird. The lion and bird heads were incorporated into their costumes and on folly–sticks they carried. Dave Tonnison got the age of Scaphio very well, and delivered the dialogue with conviction; the same could not be said of the inept Phantis of Thomas Monk. But neither of them played with any real menace. There was really no need for Paramount to fear these shambling senile animals. A disappointing evening. MICHAEL WALTERS
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