Oh, Wouldn’t It Be Luverly!

Adam and Eve It

Oh, Wouldn’t It Be Luverly!

by Jackie Howting

The Edmundians, Cheray Hall, Whitton until 27^th January

Review by Viola Selby

Oh, wasn’t this a luverly toe tapping show that was such an intriguing and refreshing adaptation to a much loved classic!  With twists to keep us guessing and so many hilarious jokes you wouldn’t Adam and Eve it! 

Part of the guessing is whether the show will pitch towards a musical or veer towards a panto.  What the heck, let’s do both, as Edmundians latest romp, with sufficient apology to GBS, references a certain popular play of 1914 (itself based on Greek myth), and its later film and musical versions.  Lerner and Loewe, eat your heart out, for here is Oh, Wouldn’t It Be Luverly!

There is certainly much in the pot that the indefatigable Jackie Howting has cooked up, not only as the director but also as part of the set and costume design along with Becky Halden, Ellen Walker-Dibella and company, and Julie Hargreaves and Sharon Davis. 

It is through this amazing crew, as well as the musical maestro Terry Bedell and the atmospheric sounds and lighting of Greg Smith, that the audience is transported back to Edwardian London, with smooth scene changes effortlessly managed by the stage crew (Becky Halden and Dave Breen) and lively dances creatively choreographed by Ellen Walker–Dibella and Savannah Swyer.

Savannah Swyer is not only a choreographer but also shows her tremendous talents both acting and singing, as she more than meets the challenge of taking on an iconic role, which here appears as Liza Do-less.  She is then well supported by the equally talented Saoirse Kingsland as Liza’s sister Betsy, both of whom manage to convey a true feeling of sisterhood as the two characters support each other through their new job working for Frankie Henshaw, this adaptation’s Freddy Eynsford-Hill. 

Frankie’s suave persona and the genuineness of his absolute love for Liza is perfectly portrayed by Emily Hill-Kelly, who not only manages to convey such passion with Swyer, particularly during their duets such as Love is an Open Door, but also a brotherly love for their butler and best friend George, amazingly acted by Evie Schaapveld.  Schaapveld manages to carefully and caringly depict George’s sweet nature and the seriousness of his role as butler.  She also provides hilarity at his fear of spiders (Becky Halden in heavy disguise) leads to one of the funniest scenes of the play. 

However the true comedy of this whole performance must be attributed to the fantastic pairing of Terry Bedell as Liza’s dad Albert, and Ellen Walker-Dibella as Liza’s mum and the dame of the show, Hattie.  Bedell and Walker-Dibella’s chemistry is electrifying as they bounce off one another, bringing energy to every scene they are in.  Their abilities to convey the clearest and most realistic cockney accents as well really does help the audience escape. 

We are treated to some linguistic lessons, as a refresher course in cockney rhyming slang forms part of the audience participation.  It adds a bit more than “Oh, no, he isn’t” or “He’s behind you”.  Philological peregrinations continue with the injection of American terms into Edwardian English.  So, Fred the barman (an insouciant Steve Wink) becomes a “bartender”.  It is all part of an eclecticism that stitches Summer Loving from Grease into this potpourri.  This duet is another highlight from Bedell and Walker-Dibella, which brings the house down.  However, the Americanisms are pushed too far in the Royal Ascot scene when Liza forgets herself in the excitement of her horse racing towards the winning post, thereby revealing the deception of her social status.    The robustness of “Move yer bloody …” is somewhat lost as when the last word becomes “butt”.  Surely, to the Edwardians, that word could only mean a beer barrel or a rifle range.

The Edmundians always excel in bringing in younger performers, and well over a third of the Oh, Wouldn’t It Be Luverly! cast are of school age.  The youngest include the (soon to be upwardly mobile) servants of Frankie Henshaw, the trio of Eddie (Roisin McKernan-Wink), Amy (Sophia-Lilly Kiernan) and Vera (Ciara Nunn) plus the cheeky Marty (James Kingsland) and the diminutive Maud (Lily Halden).  Their touching scene, where they lament not being loved, really tugs at the audience’s heartstrings.

In contrast, the eloquently evil Hugo Higgs is brilliantly brought to life by Sean Carey who manages to give this easily-detestable character more depth and secrecy, adding to the serpentine twists and turns of the whole story, made even more intricate by the delightful double act he forms with Matt Power as Colonel Pickles, whose singing abilities and sweet nature are enough to warm anyone’s strawberry tart! 

This sentiment can also be used to describe the rest of the cast who all perform with such care and characterisation that ensures this is a proper panto filled with playfulness, pranks, propriety and profundity

Viola Selby, January 2024

Photography courtesy of Edmundians