You could be forgiven for not having seen a Rodgers and Hart musical as they are seldom played in London. The Boys From Syracuse, a gem of a musical, is currently playing at London’s “top” theatre (top because it’s the highest at 446ft above sea level) Upstairs At The Gatehouse in Highgate Village. Whilst a pleasant production with a chortle-inducing lick of comedy, it fails to touch many of my buttons.
The Boys From Syracuse is, in short, a musical retelling of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. A notoriously difficult play to cast, perform and usually for audience’s to understand. It tells the story of Antipholus of Syracuse and his ward Dromio who strangely bare a stark resemblance, unbeknownst to them, to their namesakes, Antipholus and Dromio, from Ephesus. If you think that sentence is confusing, it gets more convoluted from there. Men get caught up with wives, prostitutes, and courtesans, alongside flipping friendships, partners and even their jewellery.
Director Mark Giesser has made an incredible number of strong directorial choices to try to make this confusing tale simpler, however increased the difficulty for himself by casting only eight actors. While not the strongest of casts, the female actors, despite their smaller parts, outshine the men. Caroline Kennedy’s sumptuous, traditionally operatic soprano, portraying the hornily chaotic Adriana was the highlight of the show, alongside Karen Wilkinson’s dry and witty Yorkshire housewife depiction of her servant, Luce. With the two actresses, joined by classically demure sister Luciana, played by George Faith, the trio sing a breathtaking rendition of the delightful ditty, Sing For Your Supper.
As comedic dual roles, Brendan Matthew’s portrayal of both Dromio’s is slightly confusing, with the Ephesian Dromio a fourth wall breaking, camp version of a Gemma Collins and Mr Tumble mashup, played off by the almost New Yorker Nathan Lane as a clown. While it was at times hilarious, it was just a lot to process. I do however think this is one of the best critiques to get, asking an actor to tone down their performance is easy, Brendan certainly has personality and, in my eyes, a bright future in musical comedy. John Faal, in his role as both Antipholus’s, was pleasant, but unfortunately upstaged by the rest of the cast.
Artistically, the set, created by Intellectual Propery, is perfect. An incredibly witty roman mosaic with the map of Ephesus is our backdrop, adorned with mythological pun after pun. It is simple but so effective, helping to ease the audience into this complex story. With costumes, by Alice McNicholas and Isabel Southey, a positive rainbow back catalogue of colourful children’s TV costumes, the design and directorial choices do, in fact, out shine the whole cast.
This production of The Boys From Syracuse is, like it’s source material, a mishmash of great moments and confusing moments. I think it needs time for the cast to settle into their roles, with more practice, the nuance rather than gregarious comedy can be found. With its run until 29th of September, certainly from this week onwards this production, I hope, will shine.
The Boys From Syracuse is at Upstairs At The Gatehouse until 29th September 2024
Tickets available at https://www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com/
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