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ALVARO’S BALCONY

Book by Sebastian Michael

Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Kaldor

Directed by Robert McWhir

Landor Theatre

23 September – 18 October, 2008

uzens

A review by Barry Grantham for EXTRA! EXTRA!

Alvaro’s Balcony at the Landor Theatre is a musical about Constance, Princess of the small principality of Centoluci. The programme describes it as: “The princess, her lover, and the story that could not be told.”  So I shall make no attempt to do so. The story, however, is told most excellently by its authors and its actors, and it is a fascinating one; given with the stamp of reality. A further study of the programme informs me that the entire thing is fictitious and “any similarity to persons living or dead …etc. etc. - just in time to save me half an hour on the internet trying to learn about the real Princess Constance and Centoluci.

The story is told in duel time, the action taking place in Centoluci in 1928/9 and   simultaneously in Margarita off the cost of Venezuela in 1972. This provides a narrator for the events that are supposed to have happened earlier. This may sound complicated but all is done with a sure hand and an eye for every detail.

I am about to fling superlatives in every direction, so before I do. I would like to make one critical point. In the faster musical numbers, the words are not always clear (pity, as the lyrics are very witty) and the accompaniment a little too loud. There is also a special technique, used by the practitioners of Intimate Revue - ie. the two Hermionies and Noel Coward himself, (there are a couple of  momentary impressions of the master) that not all of the cast have entirely mastered.

That out of the way, on to the praises!  If the theatre had issued me with a questionnaire – you know with the little boxes labelled ‘poor’, ‘fair’, ‘good’, and ‘excellent’, I would have been able to tick the last box on all scores.  First of all, the casting - remarkable - not a single miscast in a large company, not a single member of it unsuitable in appearance or deficient in ability. The acting is informally excellent…
Especially from… no, I cannot say that for to do so would imply that others were less good – not so.  But let us first delight in the Princess Constance of  Helen Anker, so much the outsider, bringing youth, and beauty and vitality to a moribund monarchy – with echoes of Princess Grace, or our own Diana, and how elegant in one superb gown  after another. And now you see I’ve got onto the costumes by Nina Morley. These dresses are not what you’d expect to see on the fringe! Rarely even in the West End do you get anything near as good: gowns of beading and lace and fringe, and cut velvet – of such value that I would not be surprised if they didn’t need a security guard in attendance. If the male attire was not quite as showy, that is only proper with a preponderance of morning suits and a couple of splendid uniforms. The costumes are matched by the set (almost) (Set designer: Mike Lees). You enter the auditorium from the sombre reds of the pub below into a study-in-white. White chiffon tabs, a white cheval mirror, white chairs and a baby grand – white of course. To one corner of the auditorium, a space is reserved for a small white table and a couple of Lloyd loom chairs (white), which is there to provide that other time and location needed by the play.  Any small furniture and props brought on are chosen to harmonise perfectly with the setting. And all is lit, (lighting designer: Richard Lambert) to provide an ambience of opulence to suggest a royal residence, or a less exulted dwelling, the garret occupied by our hero, impoverished musician AlvaroVigna, played with gusto by Norman Bowman, handsome, rugged, and an ideal counterfoil to the delicate Helen Anker, lovelessly married to the reigning Prince of Centoluci, aristocratic, remote, hidebound,  played entirely convincingly by Ben Fleetwood Smyth.   Then there is Valerie Cutko as Cesara - every inch of her towering stature imbued with the elegance of ancient royalty and a splendid singer in the remarkable ‘Burning of the Flags’; this is opera rather than musical – and modern opera at that. Andrew C Wadsworth appears in the important role of the court official Gaultieri with a true actors voice – and powerful presence   Elizabeth Graham and Micheal Coghlan are featured as the snobbish Mr and Mrs Haitzinger but contribute their acting, dancing, and singing skills throughout the piece.  Jonathan Eio and Aimi Cree are credited as Ensemble but both provide a great range of rapidly assumed characters, played with a sure precision which is a hallmark of the entire production and Miles Eagling as Chaz - very good leading the spirited 1920’s pastiche ‘The Next Big Thing’. A special mention for Judith Paris as Miss Vine, the pivotal character from the 1970’s  who narrates the story of an earlier time in which she was involved’ with great sincerity and warmth. Miss Paris acts and moves beautifully. Tom Fox-Davies is the reporter Marcello, to whom the story is told. A very worthy partner for Miss Paris 

So to conclude the panegyric(unusual from this reviewer) I must mention the choreographer Robbie O’Reilly, who well knows the style required of the 1920’s but is not content just to rehash the over-familiar routines, but reinvents them for the production and the exact moment in the plot.  I think you will have gathered that my admiration for the director Robert McWhir is boundless. Now I have a theory – perhaps I might attempt a thesis one day – that there is an ‘ideal’ solution to the blocking of any particular scene; for example, if I had been directing the scene of the final confrontation between the Prince and Miss Vine, I hope that I would have done exactly as Mr McWhir; of course they should be seated, of course they should be some six feet apart, and of course they should be facing front, not each other.

I think too that you will not require from me further praise for the joint authors, Jonathan Kaldor and Sebastian Michael, nor my recommendation that you should not miss, Alvaro’s Balcony.

Landor Theatre, 70 Landor Road, London, SW9 9PH
Dates:  Tuesday 23rd September to Saturday 18th October 
(Tuesday to Saturday only)
Times: Evenings at 7.30 pm
Box Office: 0207 737 7276 www.landortheatre.co.uk
Tickets:  £15 Concessions £12

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