a bit of bonhomie

I am away in my beloved Tuscany on holiday, and it’s wonderful to be here, especially to be back in the beautiful Chiusure where I spent my sabbatical. I consider myself blessed to have a sense of having two places that feel like home, and realise that, even though I’m only ten months back in Dublin, I am beginning to feel connected to the city in a way I never managed in London.Just before I took the plane, I managed to catch the superlative Sweeney Todd at the Gate. (With, interestingly, its own Myspace page). As it’s been deservedly lauded with rave reviews already, and I’ve come to it late, I’m not writing a proper review here. I’ve known this show all my life, the soundtrack with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou is one of my most played albums. I’ve seen it about four times, but of course such is the expense of staging musicals, I’ve never seen it in Dublin before. What makes the Gate’s production so attractive is that it’s dramatically very clear and inventive, the design is fresh and quirky, and really clever given the limited space of the Gate stage. Anita Reeves was born to play Mrs Lovett, she was truly spectacular. Mark O’Regan was hysterical, and I loved the balletic emphasis of the show, in particular the stunning Lisa Lambe playing Johanna, with the sweetest songbird-like voice I’ve ever heard on stage. David Shannon was too young and sexy to play Sweeney, (something about which I’d never thought I’d complain) a the part requires a raddled middle-aged bitterness to make dramatic sense. But his voice was a real treat. Go see this show before it closes on July 7th.