Theatre / Review
Review: The Good Life
Theatre Royal Bath have the perfect autumn cheer-up show – but you have to be fast – it’s only with us ’til Saturday 16, ahead of its West End run.
The Good Life has hit the twenty-first-century stage with all its ‘70s charm, familiar characters and set-up, with some (only slightly) more modern stories to keep us laughing at how so little really changes when it comes to marriage, friendship and community.
Writer and director Jeremy Sams has created a perfect revival/adaptation script that gives the audience just what they’d hope for – a happy piece of theatre gold. The auditorium was packed and the audience was delighted.
is needed now More than ever
We meet Geraldine the goat (thanks to the kind of twenty-first-century puppetry we couldn’t have enjoyed in ’75 – thanks to Matthew Forbes) and are treated to witty – almost quality-panto-esque – set pieces where we can bathe in ‘70s nostalgia and laugh at ourselves.
Preeya Kalidas plays Margo Leadbetter. Photo: Dan Tsantilis.
The stagecraft is top-notch – who knew the Theatre Royal could have two rotating walls? The sets and costumes (designed by Michael Taylor, delivered by a production team with a clear talent for detail) are magnificent. And the cast and direction are flawless.
The ensemble isn’t just Tom (Rufus Hound) and Barbara (Sally Tatum), Margo (Preeya Kalidas) and Jerry (Dominic Rowan); we also have a very enjoyable returning comedy duo: milkman and copper; boss and boss’s wife; and (solo!) “not a vet”, pigman and secretary: Nigel Betts and Tessa Churchyard.
It’s a huge challenge to adapt and star in a new version of a national treasure. This was no easy slam-dunk; the stakes are high. But the script is spot-on and the cast quickly make each character their own, while clearly playing the TV characters.
This is a warm, generous, fun, piece of excellent theatrical comedy that will make you feel good, especially – but not only – if you enjoyed the original. You can catch it next at Cheltenham Everyman (October 19-23), on its pre-West End tour.
Main photo: Dan Tsantilis
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