London's musical theatre scene is awash with tired jukebox shows and unimaginative revivals, so it's great to see the tiny Landor Theatre continuing to take big risks. Although 'The Glorious Ones' is penned by Lynn Ahrens and composed by Stephen Flaherty, both awash with Tony awards, this UK premiere is a quirky show and by no means
a surefire hit.
Set in seventeenth-century Italy, this offbeat 2007 musical explores the genre of commedia dell'arte, which was performed in the streets and hailed straight from the gutter. The show pays homage to this joyfully bawdy artform and is packed with heaving bosoms, broad laughs and brassy songs. It is the musical equivalent of a naked lass slipping, repeatedly, on a huge banana skin.
Director Robert McWhir makes ingenious use of the Landor's limited space and, despite the large cast and flurry of quickfire sketches, the stage rarely feels cluttered. The cast is a rainbow of rowdiness and reaches its climax with the cheeky phallic references of 'Armanda's Tarantella'.
This is a light-hearted piece and, despite a moving performance from Kate Brennan as the wronged Columbina, there's little emotional depth. When tragedy does hit, it feels out of place and undermines an otherwise sumptuously silly affair.