French Toast
When you write a play about a bad play, how do viewers tell if it's done badly or well? The Gallic Gang poses this question in an admittedly entertaining fashion, however falls short at multiple hurdles along the way in Sam Alexander’s new adaptation of ‘Fefe de Broadway’.
Based on an uproarious comedy by acclaimed playwright Jean Poiret (best known for ‘La Cage aux Folles’) this company has taken another of his old French plays and bedazzled it for the English stage. The question is, how much glam and glitter do you need to cover the cracks in a show that's full of them? Promising to be a little bit rude and a little bit sexy with a few songs thrown in the mix, this sounds like a perfect show for fans of the theatre dahling, but does the curtain call elicit the standing ovation we hoped for?
In short, the answer is no. In long…
The cast were talented, as proven from their impressive biographies, however were severely underutilised, and only ever depicted characters trying to perform well but never actually succeeding. With such a plethora of skills amongst a small group it seemed a waste not to take advantage of these - and instead have them prance and warble their way through the piece as subpar amateurs. On the flip side of this, these archetypes were portrayed very well, with Reece Richardson absolutely nailing his tropes, and clearly exceeding the writer's vision. Speaking of which, it is clear that the script was not the primary issue, but the way in which it has been depicted and directed was.
The principal character of Simon Monk is a perfect example of this, as the lines he is given are packed with potential to be riotously funny, however the delivery falls a little flat. This could be due to uncertainty on stage as it did seem as though some ad libbing or improv filled a few gaps in sections where rehearsed dialogue should be, or perhaps it was the fact that large chunks of the text were spoken in French… a language much of the audience only partially understood.
Akin to an unintentional imitation of The Play That Goes Wrong, there were multiple hiccups in this press night performance which is naturally expected at the beginning of a run, but it unfortunately didn’t help with the general unpolished atmosphere of the evening. This included mishaps with props, costumes, and set - and those were just what was noticeable from the seats. Although it’s likely that the audience spent more time stifling laughs towards the performers than cackling with them, there were definitely moments of (much needed) comic relief throughout, confirming that the content of the show itself could be executed very well in the right hands. Those hands may not have belonged to the dramaturgy team on this particular production, or Sammy Dowson who created more confusion than contentment with a costume design quite unfit for multi-rolling actors, especially with important changes so early on that were forgotten by the next scene.
It's hard to decipher if Hugo Dodsworth’s lighting was badly designed, or if the blocking simply didn't work with it, as on paper it must’ve looked brilliant - filling the space with warmth in occasionally unsaturated environments, and helping us keep up with a convoluted and slow-paced plot. In saying this, even during the best moments during the 1hr 40 play, characters were lit when they had no relevance to the current action, and those that did were in shadow.
Conclusively, it was a very good ‘bad play’ be that a positive or negative thing, but it would be brilliant to head back to the drawing board and try again with this one.
This show was reviewed on the 7th October 2024 at the Riverside Studios, London where the show runs until the 26th October 2024. Tickets available here: French Toast | Riverside Studios
Review written by Katie Anna McConnell
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Photo credit: Lidia Crisafulli
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