PRODUCERS are putting their faith in big-budget musicals as the West End springs back to life. Three have opened this month: Frozen at the magnificently refurbished Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Back To The Future at the Adelphi, and Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne. The first two are based on popular movies, but what all three have in common is a delight in spectacle. I was reminded of the way that, more than a century ago, audiences were thrilled to see an avalanche, an earthquake, or a horse race on stage.
Frozen is infinitely superior to its source: a 2013 animated Disney film. The music is still by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and the book by Jennifer Lee, but this story of sibling estrangement has far greater depth when acted by living people. Disney’s female royals all tend to have the same wide-eyed cuteness, but Samantha Barks brings to the ice-queen Elsa a genuine beauty and an aura of elegant sadness as if appalled by her supernatural powers. Stephanie McKeon as her cast-off sister, Anna, is not merely a perky goofball, but a young woman of grit.
Denne historien er fra September 22, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra September 22, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
