National Theatre, London – until 11th May 2019
Just a quickie for this revisit to Follies, which remains as perfect a piece of musical theatre as I could hope for. I loved it then but I really love it now, Joanna Riding is just heartbreakingly perfect as Sally, she really brings something to the role that somehow eluded Imelda Staunton (for me at least), Alexander Hanson is superb in tracing Ben’s tragic fall, and Janie Dee and Peter Forbes maintain their stellar work as Phyllis and Buddy (seriously, Dee is a proper showstopper).
And as is surely appropriate in Dominic Cooke’s production, ghosts of the past interplay with what we’re seeing from top to bottom. It was great to see Dame Felicity Lott as Heidi, a different but no less affecting proposition than Dame Josephine Barstow (there truly ain’t nothing like a…). And the young talents of Gemma Sutton, Ian McIntosh, Harry Hepple and Christine Tucker are eloquently elegant as the younger incarnations of the central quartet.
I benefited from a different viewpoint too, up close but out to the side, which brought to light so much of the beautiful detail on display here. Vicki Mortimer’s exquisite set and costumes, how Tracie Bennett gives every single inch of herself in her extraordinary ‘I’m Still Here’, how Dawn Hope matches her for commitment as she leads the nigh-on perfect choreography (Bill Deamer) as Stella for ‘Who That’s Woman?’ Seriously, don’t miss your final opportunities to catch this.
Related
Since 2003, Ian Foster has been writing reviews of plays, sometimes with a critical element, on his blog
Ought to Be Clowns, which has been listed as one of the UK's Top Ten Theatre Blogs by Lastminute.com, Vuelio and Superbreak. He averages more than 350+ shows a year. He says: "Call me a reviewer, a critic or a blogger, and you will apparently put someone or other's nose out of joint! So take it or leave it, essentially this is my theatrical diary, recording everything I go to see at the theatre in London and beyond, and venturing a little into the worlds of music and film/TV where theatrical connections can be made."
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Tags: Adrian Grove, Aimee Hodnett, Alexander Hanson, Alison Langer, Alyn Hawke, Anouska Eaton, Billy Boyle, Bruce Graham, Caroline Fitzgerald, Christine Tucker, Claire Moore, Dawn Hope, Felicity Lott, Follies, Gary Raymond, Gemma Sutton, Geraldine Fitzgerald, HARRY HEPPLE, Ian Foster, Ian McIntosh, Ian McLarnon, Janie Dee, Jasmine Kerr, Jeremy Batt, JOANNA RIDING, Julie Armstrong, Kaye Brown, Liam Wrate, Lindsay Atherton, Lisa Ritchie, Liz Ewing, Liz Izen, Michael Remick, Monica Swayne, Myra Sands, National Theatre, Peter Forbes, Rohan Richards, Rosanna Bates, Sarah-Marie Maxwell, There Ought to Be Clowns, Tom Partridge, TRACIE BENNETT, Vanessa Fisher
Since 2003, Ian Foster has been writing reviews of plays, sometimes with a critical element, on his blog
Ought to Be Clowns, which has been listed as one of the UK's Top Ten Theatre Blogs by Lastminute.com, Vuelio and Superbreak. He averages more than 350+ shows a year. He says: "Call me a reviewer, a critic or a blogger, and you will apparently put someone or other's nose out of joint! So take it or leave it, essentially this is my theatrical diary, recording everything I go to see at the theatre in London and beyond, and venturing a little into the worlds of music and film/TV where theatrical connections can be made."
