A Little Night Music **** TNT
Simply staged against a backdrop of frosty mirrors and silver birches, Trevor Nunn’s intimate revival of Stephen Sondheim’s seductive 1973 musical combines a haunting nostalgia with a sense of fun and a bittersweet truthfulness which tugs at the emotions.
Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film Smiles of a Summer Night Sondheim’s brilliant waltz tempo vision of extra-marital affairs and mismatched pairings reveals a trenchant wit and a rueful awareness of the potential follies of falling in love at any age.
Simply staged against a backdrop of frosty mirrors and silver birches, Trevor Nunn’s intimate revival of Stephen Sondheim’s seductive 1973 musical combines a haunting nostalgia with a sense of fun and a bittersweet truthfulness which tugs at the emotions.
Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film Smiles of a Summer Night Sondheim’s brilliant waltz tempo vision of extra-marital affairs and mismatched pairings reveals a trenchant wit and a rueful awareness of the potential follies of falling in love at any age.
The production isn’t quite perfect – Hannah Waddingham is, perhaps, more arch than potentially poignant as itinerant actress Desirée, and Jessie Buckley (runner-up in the TV competition to find the next Nancy for the forthcoming production of Oliver!) seems surprisingly vocally uncomfortable as the teenage Anne, still a virgin after almost a year of marriage.
But every word of Sondheim’s masterly lyrics is crystal clear. Alexander Hanson’s excellent Fredrik (her frustrated, middle-aged lawyer husband and Desirée’s old flame) even retains his dignity when singing in long johns, Maureen Lipman is equally impressive as Desiree’s disdainful, wheelchair bound mother (a canny courtesan from a bygone age whose small fortune was amassed through a succession of judiciously chosen liaisons) and there is so much to enjoy in this elegant, ironic treat that the flaws barely matter.
Menier Chocolate Factory 53 Southwark Street, SE1 (020 7907 7060) Until 8th March. Tickets £29.50 Meal Deals available
But every word of Sondheim’s masterly lyrics is crystal clear. Alexander Hanson’s excellent Fredrik (her frustrated, middle-aged lawyer husband and Desirée’s old flame) even retains his dignity when singing in long johns, Maureen Lipman is equally impressive as Desiree’s disdainful, wheelchair bound mother (a canny courtesan from a bygone age whose small fortune was amassed through a succession of judiciously chosen liaisons) and there is so much to enjoy in this elegant, ironic treat that the flaws barely matter.
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