10th August 2023
London isn’t short of musical revivals. We currently have We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum, Cabaret adorning what was once the Playhouse Theatre but is now cleverly transformed into the Kit Kat club and Grease which appears to be on annual rotation at the Dominion (alongside Elf and Dirty Dancing).
Therefore, champions of new writing often bemoan the risk-averse producers for programming a show that offers new writing (from either side of the Atlantic) as we saw with the brilliant A Strange Loop.
However, La Cage aux Folles is a show last revived in 2017 by Bill Kenwright (Sorry, I can’t forgive BK for what happened with my all-time favourite show Ghost) with a cast helmed by John Partridge (Eastenders, Cabaret) as Albin. It was the first production to tour this Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein’s classic originally having been performed in 1983 (Broadway) and 1986 (West End) respectively – and this particular production brings warmth, heart and a real camp-tactic time at the Regent’s Park Open Air theatre for the summer season.
For those of you, who like me who know nothing about the plot, La Cage‘s story centres around Georges (Billy Carter), who is the owner of a glamorous drag nightclub called La Cage Aux Folles, and his husband Albin (Carl Mullaney), the club’s number one performer Zaza. We then meet Georges’ son, Jean-Michel (Ben Culleton), who announces that he is engaged to Anne (Sophie Pourret). Unfortunately, she is also the daughter of a conservative politician, Edward Dindon (normally played by John Owen-Jones, however Craig Armstrong was the cover on the night I attended). As Anne’s family is ultra-traditional and anti-gay, and in an attempt to impress his fiancé’s family, Jean-Michel ensures that both Georges and Albin hide their true identities in order to deem “acceptable” by society’s conventional standards. Over the course of the story Albin and Georges – along with their son Jean-Michel who re-discover the true meaning of family – and this show interrogates the want and need to put yourself last so that the ones you love can come first.
Each actor in this production gave it their very best, and wow-ed: from high kicks, to the farcical comedy deployed the audiences laughed from side to side (or at they say at La Cage, “at an angle”). The director Tim Sheader’s work I am not overly familiar but given the news of his departure to the Donmar Warehouse, I was quite glad to have seen a work directed by him at the Open Air. The attention to detail in the costumes was also a highlight. I loved the candelabra on Zaza’s head, and the sheer fact you could see every costume bedazzled to its every inch. Wherever you’re sat in this stunning outdoor venue, you’ll have a great view in this 1240-person theatre as it really is a visual feast-for-the-eyes.
Where this production could have been better was with the odd set pieces that adorned the stage at either side, and when actors waited by the sides of the stage to go into their scenes. This therefore made it appear as most of the stage wasn’t being used to its full capacity (instead holding pieces to be wheeled on, or microphones to be ropes strategically to prevent an actor from presumably falling over), and I felt it could have been even grander at points. Further, the lack of actor pronouns could have been included in the programme which was a shame and whilst the script is one that harbours language of the past (which would not fly now), there were a few cringe-induced moments when misogynistic stereotypes are bandied around. A whole re-working of the book need not be deployed, but some attention to phrases that will resonate could have been changed given the changes elsewhere in this production.
A special mention has to be given to Carl Mullaney (whose shows at the Kinky Cabaret I’ve been to in the past) as Albin/Zaza, and who gets to sing the iconic “gay anthem” at the end of Act 1 was sung so effortlessly and with emotion. Along with the removals of the original production’s reference to francs (instead, we now have pounds) and a northern accent which is well done. Mullaney’s a tour-de-force and the studying that has gone into marking his own stamp on this has to be appreciated; I eagerly await what he will go on to do next.
Where this production collectively amped up was in the second act, and in the form of West End superstar Debbie Kurup (whoae character comes complete with a hilarious South Shields accent). She was superb for the entire time that she spent on stage – and I only wished that we got to see more of her immense talent. The role she played was smaller, but I did enjoy the comic relief and a stunning voice.
All in all, the production of La Cage is one of the better things to have come out of the Open Air in recent years – and the musical revivals that we’ve been blessed* with as it is a superb night in a venue where watching performers play to a crowd in the outdoors is a thrill like no other.
Until 16 September: https://openairtheatre.com/production/la-cage-aux-folles
*or perhaps, cursed?