The evening of Monday 14th
November 2016 me and the boyfriend went to see the opening night of Breakfastat Tiffany’s at the Norwich Theatre Royal (I think I’ve got him hooked on
musicals and theatre shows now, let’s hope he reads this and gets me a West End
ticket for Christmas or my birthday next year – hint hint!!). We had a lovely
time and really enjoyed the play. I first saw Breakfast at Tiffany’s in April
of this year at The Grand in Leeds which starred Pixie Lott before she starred
in the West End version of the play. I am so pleased I got to see the show
again, despite a different Holly Golightly, as I now understand the story so
much better. Also I have not yet watched the film as I had promised in my
previous blog post about the show, maybe I will by the time I see the show
again, if I do. I hope not to repeat myself too much in this post, but as I
said the cast were very much the same. Which I have to say makes me commend them
all, as I did not feel at all like the cast, for at least the past seven
months, have been doing the same show every night which just shows the quality and
talent of this elegant play and those in it.
You can read a bit of the background
of Breakfast at Tiffany’s from my previous post, please go have a look at.
This play is based on Truman Capote's novella which was also transformed into the much loved film starring Audrey Hepburn. In this production Holly Golightly, the protagonist of the play, is
played by Georgia May Foote, best known for her role as Katy Armstrong in
Coronation Street. I thought Foote was a fantastic Holly Golightly and her
voice gave me genuine flashbacks to Lott’s portrayal of the same famous
character. She had the flirtation down to a tea as well as the spontaneity and
mystery that Golightly occupies. She also sings in this production although I definitely
have a feeling she didn’t sing as much as Lott did in the earlier productions
(this may be a complete mistake on my part so I apologise if so). However
saying that, I absolutely enjoyed Foote’s singing and it was really nice, I
particularly love the song Moon River. I am not a big fan of soap operas,
however Ben watches them from time to time and he did say it was hard to get the
picture of her in Coronation Street out of his mind while watching her on stage
as an American socialite, which I can understand as I have experienced the same
with other performances from different people.
Matt Barber (as Fred) and Victor
McGuire (as Joe Bell) continue in the show and both play great roles,
particularly Barber, I really liked his portrayal as Fred as I did last time.
Two people I didn’t mention last time but who I really enjoyed this time were:
David Cardy as O J Berman and Melanie La Barrie as Mme Spanella and Stern Lady
Boss (love that character name). I thought La Barrie was the funniest of the
night. She really made me laugh, especially when she was skating about the
stage (so random). She has been in loads of musicals too which is great, I
would love to see her sing in the near future. Cardy I am sure was not in the
previous production I saw in Leeds but I would have to check this out digging
out my programme. I saw Cardy in Made in Dagenham and I hear him often on the
soundtrack which frequently features as my travelling to and from work album. This
time the role of Mag, who is also very funny, was played by Katy Allen and I
also very much enjoyed her drunken southern accent. And guess what, Bob the Cat
was back, I cannot believe he is still in it, he has been so busy, he must be
the richest cat I know (not that I know him personally). Bob still gets the
biggest “awwwwws” of the night. What was especially funny was as we were
heading for the car after the show we saw Bob the Cat getting in his taxi, he
has his own taxi, this cat lives in style, bloody hilarious.
I remember saying in my last blog
post that Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a great play and really enjoyable to watch
but not a terrible amount goes on. I have since changed my mind second time
round. I understand the storyline much better and understand Holly’s behaviour
so much more. I have to say that Act one is a little slow but by Act two I am
really into the play and what Holly is doing and where she is going. I
mentioned this last time but I am a massive fan of the set (Matthew Wright, who
was also costume designer). Despite a big mistake and the wrong drop coming
down (which I forgave) I love the details of the bedrooms. From the ripped wall
paper to the dirty tea towel it all just feels so professional and real. I
still don’t understand the colour of the turquoise and its prominence in the
play but maybe this is related to the film somehow. I particularly like the
scaffolding thing that you often see in American films (Pretty Woman, which she
climbs down) and the use of this within the story. Ben Cracknell’s lighting is
also amazingly effective, from rain to paparazzi it all fits into place as part
of the wider story.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s finishes its
current tour at the Norwich Theatre Royal this weekend. Tickets are still
available for the Thursday and Friday evening performances, both Saturday’s
matinee and evening performances have very limited tickets left and I would hazard
a guess these will be sold out by the time Saturday arrives (I cannot believe
another week has nearly past us). It is a really enjoyable show; most play
enthusiasts will really enjoy Breakfast at Tiffany’s and this is coming from a
musical addict remember. And on different news from the Norwich Theatre Royal
some new shows have been announced which will soon be arriving on our Norfolk
doorstep, which is extremely exciting. Fantastic musicals including Sister Act,
Funny Girl and Running Wild are due to arrive and family classics including
Fantastic Mr Fox and Granny Gangsta. 2017 is going to be a very special year at
the Theatre Royal and don’t forget this year’s panto, Jack and the Beanstalk
will soon be here (13th December to 15th January),
tickets are now available. Please get in touch; I would love to hear from some
of the people reading the posts AaronBurgess89.
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