There's a festive Spanish atmosphere from the moment you enter the Playhouse Theatre with flamenco music and appropriately themed drink deals.It was originally written and directed by film-maker Pedro Almodovar who's given us a string of OTT, slightly camp, always smolderingly sexy thrillers and comedies. He also discovered Antonio Banderas and gave Penelope Cruz some of her finest screen roles. He loves depicting the turmoil of glamorous women and the Verge plot concerns a traumatic day in the Barcelona life of a successful actress, Pepa, as her lover leaves her and she becomes entangled with his family, former wife and current mistress. The muddle is made worse by her dim model friend’s terrorist lover, the police, lawyers and a jug of refreshment laced with Valium. To be honest it's a pretty slight story, predominantly set in Pepa’s apartment, which might have been just as well served by a play.
However script writer Jeffrey Lane and composer/lyricist David Yazbek have embellished it with a series of spiky, similarly sounding songs which won't be too difficult for a cast with little musical theatre experience to sing. They mostly illustrate the bustle of Barcelona life and the inner turmoil of… well, women on the verge of nervous breakdowns. There's one stand out song, Invisible, which was written for Patti Lupine, playing a spurned wife, who I saw in the original Broadway production. Who you’ll see in the role remains slightly foggy as since last week not one but three of the female leads have been off sick prompting speculation that all may not be harmonious back stage. Luckily when I saw it Tamsin Gregg was back in the central role of Peppa but without her co-stars. Gregg can't sing very well but that doesn't really matter because she’s as stylish, witty and vulnerable as we've come to expect. She's undoubtedly one of UK Theatre and TVs finest and funniest actresses and the understudies around her were terrific too.
This is a much better production than the overblown, underwhelming New York version. It's even possible to be moved by plight of the crazy beautiful women who could have seemed as exotic and untouchable as rare parrots. There's a lovely, poignant moment when everyone sings together in harmony as the sun sets.
But don't choose this show for its musicality or plot. Go to see some terrific actresses in empowering roles and enjoy a chic, sassy slice of Spanish camp.
An annually revived stage version of Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate adventure at the now defunct Mermaid Theatre used to be a London Christmas tradition. But, like the Mermaid Theatre itself, it's long gone so it's lovely that the National Theatre are breathing new life into the story in a new version by Bryony Lavery directed by the fashionable and much admired Polly Findlay.