Miles Molan, Phoebe Pryce, Theo Fraser Steele, Olivia Darnley, Freddie Gaminara - Photographer Mitzi de Margary.For Park Theatre’s fresh re-telling, Simon Reade has adapted and condensed Isherwood’s third-person narrative into a play for five actors, who under Philip Wilson’s gently perceptive direction stylishly deliver the story of George’s suppressed anxiety (both sexual and awkward Brit abroad) and we witness his longing for emotional liberation and an end to the loneliness he has endured since losing his lover.
Emulating the lush locations of the movie would be a tall order for even the plushest of small fringe venues, but Caitlin Abbott has delivered an uber-stylish straight lines set which gives the cast plenty to play against (as well as physically manoeuvre) adding surprises and an extra layer of visual interest for the audience over the course of the 2 hour running time.
Whilst Theo Fraser Steele’s George has a slightly starchy carapace rendering him largely unlovable as a character (students describe him as cagey), the sympathy one feels for his determination to break through his own personal heartache and still offer solace to other damaged and needy friends — notably Olivia Darnley’s Charley — means you root for him to find love again, even if it is via a seemingly inappropriate connection he makes with a flirtatiously handsome yet curiously coy member of his literary class (Miles Molan making his professional stage debut as Kenny). Phoebe Pryce and Freddie Gaminara deploy a range of subtlely observed supporting characters filling the gaps in George’s firmament and neatly gelling the production together.
The team at Park continue to shine as a beacon to other venues aspiring to be a slickly managed, off-WestEnd theatre and one gets the feeling that Isherwood himself would have been very pleased with this offering.
There are two types of people in the world: people who love Studio Ghibli movies, and people who’ve never heard of them.