Having been on the verge of a nervous breakdown for most of my adult life, I was intrigued to see this on stage at London’s Playhouse Theatre. Starring one of my favourite comedy actors, Tamsin Greig, who I have loved in everything she has done from Green Wing, Friday Night Dinner and Episodes to the Archers, I had high expectations and no idea what I was letting myself in for!
I love the way that farce as a theatrical genre encapsulates the ridiculousness of life in two hours of consequence and misadventure. Its success relies on brilliant acting and fast paced, inspirational direction. WOTV did not disappoint in this respect with the surprise element for me (because I hadn’t done my research) being a wonderful live band and all the actors, including Tamsin Greig, singing some show-stopping numbers!
The show is directed by Bartlett Sher whose credits include South Pacific and the King and I, and the story is based on Pedro Almodovar’s award winning movie of the same name. Like the film, the musical is set in Spain in the late 1980’s amid the messy love lives of several women. The central character is Pepa (Tamsin Greig), an actress and singer who struggles to deal with being dumped by her unfaithful boyfriend, Ivan. The plot thickens as his ex-wife, Lucia and their son, Carlos, along with his fiancé show up, while Pepa’s best friend, Candela, is dating a terrorist.
Greig is joined on stage by a powerful female cast including Haydn Gwynne, Anna Skellern and Willemijn Verkaik along with some brilliant male support from Ricardo Afonso, and Jerome Pradon. There is a lot to laugh about and the whole production is completed with a stylish set and the catchy musical score.
At the end of this performance there was an appeal by Greig for the charity, Womankind, which has benefited from two nights of the show raising over £1,300. This sum and all donations to Womankind until 5th June will be matched by the UK government pound for pound helping even more women and girls to challenge violence and discrimination. More information about this can be found here.
Catch the show while you can – it is a limited season. All the details are here!
