| 11 August 2009
Assembly Rooms @ George Street
5-21 August 15:20
This show is like marmite: you’ll either love it or hate it. David Benson’s performance is unarguably impressive and his voice brings back to life the best of Noel Coward. However, the show is very specifically directed at Noel Coward fans and the British in particular with songs such as ‘London Pride’ (although I’m not sure his fans are particularly international anyway).
The pianist plays gives a notable performance, although his character is slightly awkward and decidedly camp. The show displays the full range, from sophisticated classic renditions to cabaret-style performances of ‘I’m mad about the boy’ with feather boas.
Benson is confident and natural on stage, amusing the audiences with convincing impersonations and entertainment. The audience sung along to ‘Mad dogs and English Men’ in the show finale and most seemed to leave satisfied with the performance given by their host. He looks the part, acts the part, but I’m not sure I can really recommend this show to anyone but dedicated fans of Coward; otherwise I’d assure you that there are better musical, and comical, performances to be heard at the Fringe.
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