[title]
Forget Big Ben or the Houses of Parliament. The most familiar sight in central London is someone looking lost and scrutinizing an ‘A-Z’ street guide. The origins of this little red and blue tourist lifeline are fascinating. So it’s a shame that this new musical about the woman who created it after getting lost going to a party never seems clear about its direction.
The main problem is that ‘The A-Z of Mrs P’ can’t decide what it’s actually about. Is it about how artist Phyllis Pearsall (‘Mrs P’) – on whose autobiographies it is based – mapped out the sprawling streets of early twentieth-century London? Or is it about her fight to escape the shadow of her egotistical, overbearing father? Or is it actually about her mother’s descent into alcoholism and destitution?
Neither Diane Samuels’s book nor Gwyneth Herbert’s music and lyrics come together to form a clear picture, as these strands float in and out of focus rather than meshing in Sam Buntrock’s production – relegating each other to bystander status in long scenes that drain the show’s energy by yanking it in multiple directions. And with a running time of over two and a half hours, this begins to drag.
It’s unfortunate, because it’s full of fresh, inventive touches – particularly at the start, as Mrs P paces the streets of the city she loves. The way in which the ensemble enact the bustle of London life, becoming trains and taxis, is beautifully choreographed. The cast is top-notch. Isy Suttie is someone to root for as a plucky Phyllis, while a wild Frances Ruffelle and blustering Michael Matus are excellent as her feuding parents.
Ultimately, though, this show is less than the sum of its parts, sadly failing to chart its own terrain with the same success as the indomitable Mrs P.