King's Theatre,
Edinburgh
4 stars
The wheels of post-war
industry were briefly halted on Monday during the opening Edinburgh
date of Graham Linehan's new take on William Robinson and Alexander
Mackendrick's classic 1954 Ealing comedy. When designer Michael
Taylor's elaborate set got stuck on the revolve as Shaun Williamson's
crazed Romanian gangster was supposed to be clambering out of the
upstairs window of old Mrs Wilberforce's topsy-turvy house, it not
only added an accidental comic frisson. It also inadvertently
symbolised how an entire country was attempting to push its way
towards a new society, but was collectively unable to budge.
This is perfect for a
play chock-full of little Englander archetypes attempting a King's
Cross bank heist planned from the seeming sanctity of Mrs
Wilberforce's upstairs room. A cross-dressing major, a pill-popping
spiv, a psychopathic immigrant and a lunk-headed ex-boxer are brought
together by Professor Marcus, the self-styled brains of the
operation. As the quintet masquerade themselves as a musical troupe,
they first charm Mrs Wilberforce before blowing their cover, falling
prey to their own self-interest while accidentally inventing
modernist composition en route
Linehan and director
Sean Foley have upped the ante of Robinson and Mackendrick's already
dark comedy considerably in their reinvention of the original.
Regardless of the second-act technical glitch, Taylor's set actually
is a marvel, as is the heist itself, played out in miniature with
remote control cars racing recklessly around the house's front wall.
The performances are a mannered set of caricatures with edge. While
Paul Bown's Professor Marcus is the seemingly respectable side of
crime, it's more telling that its Michelle Dotrice's Mrs Wilberforce
who survives, her old money getting newer by the day.
The Herald, November 7th 2012
ends
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