The Lace Market Theatre has put on its best play to date and it's outrageously non-PC

Glorious must be one of the best packages the Lace Market Theatre have put together since this reviewer started covering their work 17 years ago.

Peter Quilter's text, music, costumes, set and dressing, lighting, background sound, and, above all, acting are individually first-rate. Director Roger Newman combines all these into a brilliant piece of theatre.

The play is based on the real-life story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a wealthy New York socialite and self-promoting performer who in the thirties and forties did for operatic singing what William McGonagall had earlier done for poetry.

Dialogue, witty and laugh-out-loud funny, is outrageously non-PC: we're told that Cole Porter, one of Florence's multitude of friends, "always turns up with a big bunch of pansies".

Music, the cacophonous on-stage stuff from Florence and the beautiful recorded extracts off-stage, is terrific. So are costumes, the straight ones and the high-camp stage ones. The adaptable, wickedly bad taste set – at one point there are three flying angels on the wall – is a triumph.

Alison Hope's Florence is probably the best performance of an already outstanding LMT career. Not only does she manage to sing badly without over-doing it. With facial and physical gesture, especially her walk, and much else, she simultaneously captures Florence's radiance, her histrionics, her child-like generosity and courage, and her pathological self-delusion.

She's paralleled by the equally deluded Dorothy, beautifully done by Carol Parkinson. Friendless and alone until taken into Florence's inner circle, it's via her character that the pathos underlying the play's comic veneer is brought into focus.

Max Bromley's St Clair Byfield, English, louche, and knowing camp, is a super piece of work. And Chris Sims's performance as the evening's sole non-eccentric, Cosme McMoon, is a virtual masterpiece of timing, tact, fixed grins and more besides.

Get a ticket if you can.

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Review: Glorious! Lace Market Theatre Nottingham

Admirably directed by Roger Newman, Peter Quilter's monumentally funny and moving play Glorious! proves that audience laughter for actors can indeed be music to their ears.

Set in New York, the story of Glorious! is one of Florence Foster Jenkins, played at The Lace Market Theatre  by the gloriously talented and witty Alison Hope. Mrs Jenkins (as she liked to be known) was a New York socialite in the 1930s and 1940s and was feted for her charity and very off key singing voice. This lovable eccentric won the hearts of New Yorkers and fans all over the world. Her big personality and 'voice' gained fervant admirers including well known celebrities such as Cole Porter and Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso. In her head she could sing just as well as the opera professionals she admired. However, the noise she made in her attempt at operatics was an aural calamity and this is what made her so special and charmingly quirky.

Hope's very human portrayal is brilliantly heart warming as well as very funny. Her 'songs' are sung with evident love of the woman she is playing and never become screechy. The concerts sections are so good that the audience spontaneously behave as if they themselves are the attendant hand picked New Yorkers listening in and smiling in admiration at the entertainment.

In a role that requires great subtly and underplaying, plus piano playing skills, Chris Sims is superb as pianist Cosme McMoon. His acting is restrained and referential towards the semi- closeted sexual nature of his character and Sims pulls off his many witty ripostes delightfully. His portrayal is exceptionally believable particularly in the final scene which is beautifully handled technically as an actor and technically in lighting and sound effects.

As Florence Foster Jenkins actor boyfriend, St Clair Byfield, performer Max Bromley uses his consummate stage skills to the max. Bromley shows us the loving man that has a bit of an eye for the ladies but never strays too long from Florence Foster Jenkins' side. His fine attention to detail in his role makes Bromley's performance very watchable and believable as the hammy actor St Clair Byfield.

Beverley Anderson is outstanding as tetchy Spanish maid Maria. She appears to speak Spanish like a native and her stage presence is magnetic and very funny indeed showing superb comic timing throughout.

As the dog- dotty Dorothy, Carol Parkinson is a real hoot as she compliments Alison Hopes' Florence Foster Jenkins in wacky behaviour. Her handling of Ricky the dog is uproarious. It is a joy to witness an amateur cast of such professionalism and understanding of the skills of making the audience laugh and Parkinson has an abundance of comic skills to offer.

Florence Foster Jenkins wasn't universally liked and some rebelled against the way she 'sang' and liked to express themselves in high society against her. Such a person is portrayed in the play and called Mrs Johnson. She is played by the excellent Cynthia Marsh. Resplendent in fur collar and spitting indignation Marsh commands the stage as she rebels against Florence Foster Jenkins' style and popularity. She also sports the most authentic American accent on the stage of Glorious!

There are several settings in the play and each change is swiftly executed and the whole is wonderfully designed with tremendous Art Deco period style by the talented Carole Philip. The costumes are top class.  Additionally the truly atmospheric lighting design is by Hugh Philip and Gareth Morris's sound scape gives real atmosphere and depth to this most excellent production.

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"Glorious"

Lace Market Theatre

Glorious is the story of Florence Foster Jenkins. But who is Florence Foster Jenkins?

Florence Foster Jenkins was billed as the worst singer in the world In 1940's New York, The performer who everyone wanted to see live was Florence Foster Jenkins, an enthusiastic soprano whose pitch was far from perfect.

Known as 'the first lady of the sliding scale', she warbled and screeched her way through the evening to an audience who mostly fell about with laughter. But this delusional and joyously happy woman paid little attention to her critics, instead she was surrounded by a circle of devoted friends who were almost as eccentric as she was.

Based upon a true story, the play spins from Florence's charity recitals and extravagant balls, through to her bizarre recording sessions and an ultimate triumph at Carnegie Hall.

Alison Hope plays Florence. This role shows what a good actor Alison is because I know that Alison can sing, and to play a role where the character is an off key singer is a lot harder than most people would think because you automatically want to sing in tune and not just out of key.

A great deal of character concentration is needed as just one slip could break the character. Having seen Alison in several shows I also know what a lovely generous actor she is and playing Florence has elevated her even further up the ranks of being the sort of actor any theatre company wants in their roster of fine actors. Alison rules the stage but doesn't dominate the stage.

Chris Sims plays Cosme McMoon. Another marvellous character and another wonderful performance. As McMoon, Chris has some wonderfully veiled lines to Florence and his facial expressions when delivering them are lovely to see.

Max Bromley, as St Clair Byfield. Wonderfully British hammy actor, Byfield, not Bromley, and like Cosme, this character has his fair share of brilliant comic one liners.

The lovely Carol Parkinson is Dorothy, best friend to Florence. This play has almost equality where the comedy is placed because the delightfully scatty Dorothy and her dog produces an unexpected highlight in the funeral scenes.

Maria, played by Beverley Anderson is the Spanish maid employed by Florence. She has been sacked from the position three times, but as she didn't understand English, she just stayed on. Speaking entirely in Spanish, this is another joyous part. Beverley makes her debut for the Lace Market Theatre with this role, and what a brilliant solid debut it is.

Cynthia Marsh plays Mrs Johnson, the lady who plans to scupper Florence's career. Does Mrs Johnson succeed? One way to find out! Cynthia is known for directing pieces, but here plays a lovely feisty role.

There are some fantastic costumes, primarily for Florence, but Dorothy has some pretty wacky costumes as well. the male costumes are, as you'd expect for the era, pretty damn smart.The costumes are the hard work of Barry Holland and Jean Newton and are lush.

The set itself, designed by Carole Philip is quite beautiful,especially the "ball" scene.

The lighting was designed by Hugh Philip and sound design courtesy of Gareth Morris, sublimely complementing the whole show.

Directed by Roger Newham, this is a lovely almost self-assuring play which gives you a sense of self belief in you can be or do whatever you want to be or do, as long as you have the money and influence.

It's rare to find a play that has six characters who are as equally watchable and likeable, but here is one that does just that.

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