Betty Blue Eyes - Best of London Theatre

Betty Blue Eyes is livening up Austerity Britain over at The Novello Theatre in Aldwych.  Cameron Mackintosh’s latest star has dainty trotters, a curly tail and a pink snout. The pin up animatronic porker is hogging the limelight and getting standing ovations every night to a full house. Whether she’s batting her long eyelashes, wiggling her ears at smitten co-star Reece Shearsmith, or worried about Sarah Lancashire’s frenzied pursuit of sausages, Betty is a nice bit of crackling. There is no doubt that this new £2.5 million musical is already a porcine smasher amongst its adoring public.....

Based on the acclaimed film A Private Function by Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray, this witty musical comedy is set in Shepardsford, a small Yorkshire village, two years after the Second World War. The original television comedy (1984) starred Michael Palin and Maggie Smith, and just like the hilarious film there’s a comical fast-paced script containing lots of twists, turns and porky capers.

The play is staged in the year 1947. Clement Attlee is the Prime Minister in a Labour government – at the time he wanted to create the welfare state and declares there should be “Fair Shares For All”. When the chorus rushes onto the stage holding placards and singing these very words at the Shepardsford Parade, you can’t help but think of today’s economic downturn, and just like today there is an imminent Royal Wedding. Everyone is tightening their belts and making sacrifices. The thought of bringing out the bunting fills them with hope and a sense of national pride.

Betty Blue Eyes successfully captures the essence of post-war Britain. The set depicts the run-down shop fronts and drab housing, due to the bombings. Unemployment is rife, and rations mean that many go hungry. Everyone is fed up with eating spam and butchers are being condemned by draconian Inspector Wormwold (Adrian Scarborough) who seeks out anyone selling illegal choice cuts of meat. With the impending royal nuptials of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip, people are looking forward to a celebration and the local dignitaries set about impressing business leaders by holding a banquet in Shepardsford. War time powdered egg and spam are off the menu. There is only one thing they need – roast pork to impress the important dinner guests.

American writers Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman adapted the film into a stage version and what’s clever is their treatment of both quintessential British humour blended with the social and political aspects of the day. Betty Blue Eyes is their first musical.

Music and lyrics are by Mackintosh protégés George Stiles and Anthony Drewe who have written together for 28 years and worked on productions including: Peter Pan, Tutankhamun, Honk! and The Three Musketeers. They have also written new songs for the Cameron Mackintosh/Disney production of Mary Poppins. Awards include: the 2000 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical (Honk!), the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical Production (Honk!), top prizes at the 1996 Musical of the Year Awards for Peter Pan and The Three Musketeers, the 1995 TMA Best Musical Award (Moll Flanders), The Straits Times Award for Best Musical (A Twist Of Fate) and the first ever Vivian Ellis Prize (Just So). They are the founding board members of Mercury Musical Developments, a charity that nurtures new musical writing in the UK (www.stilesanddrewe.com).

Cameron Mackintosh is proving successful at putting together unusual new productions. Over the years he’s achieved huge success with the highly acclaimed Les Misérables which has just celebrated its 25^th Anniversary, and it’s clear that Delfont Mackintosh are now reaching out for fresh, untried ideas and concepts. This is a bold and risky move during an uncertain financial climate. Nevertheless, over the last few months Cameron Mackintosh has been putting on productions like Betty, Clybourne Park and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, all which look at hardship and reflect upon modern concepts and attitudes. It’s a shrewd artistic and commercial move. The balance and ideas are right, coupled with luck and chance. In fact Betty’s scriptwriters, Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, claim that Betty Blue Eyes is all down to ‘Divine Intervention’. At the time of working on Betty in 2005, they and no one else had any inkling that we would face a recession and a new Austerity Britain in 2011 or that a Royal Wedding would be taking place during hard times. The musical is eerily fitting and the public are flocking to see it.

Directed by Richard Eyre who has won five Olivier Awards, four Evening Standard Awards, three Critics’ Circle Awards and one BAFTA, this exciting artistic partnership has taken eccentric characters, an unusual stage concept and created a dynamic dark farce where the characters jostle for position and influence within their local village. Hunger for success, married with eking out a living for their frugal existence makes them resort to desperate measures and there is no one more desperate to impress than Joyce Chilvers (played by Sarah Lancashire). Fuelled by her ambitions and dreams to “be someone” she can think of nothing else other than impressing the villagers, even manipulating her chiropodist husband into finding ways to raise their social profile. Lancashire gives a stellar performance as a social climber who craves attention, often resorting to elaborate gestures and regal attitudes to exert her influence. Her rendition of ‘Nobody’ is the best musical number in the show and indeed, one of the best numbers I’ve seen in the West End over the last two years.

Lancashire’s co-star, Reece Shearsmith (Gilbert Chilvers) plays the suffering henpecked husband, who is not living up to his wife’s Lionheart vision of the perfect man. Unknown to Joyce Chilvers, her chiropodist husband is greeted like a hero amongst the local women who adore his foot massages and handiwork on their corns and calluses. One by one they all fall for him. However, it’s not until he meets Betty by chance at Sutcliffe’s Farm that his life changes. The barn door opens and Betty makes her stage début, grunting and squeaking in pain with a sore trotter. The audience “ahhhs” and youngsters look on lovingly at the porky heroine. Gilbert puts his magic hands to use, whips out his chiropody equipment and soothes her painful trotter. Betty smiles and oinks in appreciation. It’s a beautiful Disney moment and the pig looks surprisingly realistic.

Eventually, Gilbert ends up kidnapping the pig and taking it home to his wife in the hope he can muster the courage to turn Betty into bacon. There are hilarious scenes as the couple try to keep Betty a secret from Mother Dear (Ann Emery) and the nosy village women. I won’t give any more away, but Shearsmith brilliantly plays a man torn between his protective love for Betty and his desperate need for pork chops. The relationship between man and pig becomes intense. “Betty Blue Eyes”, Gilbert croons into her piggy ears, somewhat tearfully, as Betty raises her snout adoringly at him, puffing green smoke from her rear. This begs the question: will he or won’t he turn his beloved Betty into a roast dinner?

Adrian Scarborough gives a fantastic performance as Inspector Wormwold – a mad bureaucrat obsessed with closing down businesses selling illegal meat. He sets about destroying butchers and illegal traders by painting anything from poultry to offal in green paint. The surreal concept and songs such as ‘Painting by Heart’ are reminiscent of Monty Python’s ‘The Accountancy Shanty’. The audience laughed out loud at Wormwold’s weird obsession with uncovering illegal meat sources. Adrian’s recent film credits include: The King’s Speech; The Madness of King George and Gosford Park. Adrian appeared as Mr. Pritchard in the BBC’s remake of Upstairs Downstairs and his other notable television credits include Pete in Gavin and Stacey and Charlie in Miranda.

Choreographed by Stephen Mear (So You Think You Can Dance) and with a great supporting cast, including: David Bamber (Dr James Swaby); Jack Edwards (Henry Allardyce); Ann Emery (Mother Dear) and Mark Meadows (Francis Lockwood), this show is proving a huge hit, even before the official opening night on 13^th April. Betty is given the added accolade of having Kylie Minogue as her voice. Puppeteer/Assistant Stage Manager William Banyard, who operates Betty by watching a screen off stage, does the most fantastic job of bringing the puppet star to life.

Betty Blue Eyes promises a spectacular night out and with the forthcoming Royal Wedding and The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, this brilliantly entertaining show looks set for a very long run. Indeed, the very name Betty is a shortened version of Elizabeth – both the Queen and Betty are heroines of the story. Audiences are relating to this timely musical and returning to see the show. A porcine star is born and Cameron Mackintosh has another West End hit.

Oinking good fun for all the family!   By Fiona Lister

http://www.bettyblueeyesthemusical.com/

Austerity tickets are now on sale.
Don’t miss out and call the box office on: 0844 482 5170 0844 482 5170 .

Austerity Britain Preview Prices
Valid for all performances until 13 April
Monday – Thursday: £10, £20, £30, £40
Friday & Saturday: £10, £20, £30, £40, £50
Prices from 14 April until 22 October
Monday – Thursday: £15.00, £29.50, £39.50, £49.50, £59.50
Friday & Saturday: £17.50, £29.50, £39.50, £49.50, £62.50

Please call 0844 482 5170 0844 482 5170 to ask about Premium Seats.

CONCESSIONS (Students & OAPs)

Best available seats reduced to £25 available in person only at the Box Office strictly subject to availability. Available on the day only. Valid NUS ID will be required.

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Performance Times
Monday - Saturday at 7.30pm
Thursday & Saturday at 2.30pm

Please note the following:
1st mid-week matinee performance: 21 April
The 11 April is currently off sale.
13 April (Press Night) starts early at 7:00pm