A gender-switch production of Company is a triumph.
I CONFESS. I was sceptical when I heard that Company, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, was to be recast with a female lead. I have fond memories of the show on Broadway in 1970, when it struck me as a daringly brilliant musical about the dilemma of a 35-year-old unattached male. What, I wondered, could be gained by turning Robert into Bobbie?
Having now seen Marianne Elliott’s version, starring Rosalie Craig, at the Gielgud, I am entirely won over. This is, quite simply, the best musical in London.
The gender switch makes sense in myriad ways. The plight of a single woman, ever aware of the ticking biological clock, seems more intense than that of a man. Where Robert emerged as a cold fish, Miss Craig makes Bobbie a vibrant personality who would happily settle for a husband if only she could find the right man.
Bobbie still views her married friends with an amused curiosity,but there’s a crucial moment in which Miss Craig encounters three potential life partners: when the one she most fancies, subtly played by Matthew Seadon-Young, reveals that he’s leaving New York to get married, you see Miss Craig’s expressive features quiver with disappointment.
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin November 07, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin November 07, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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
