As a show hardly known outside of any hardcore 1960s musical-lovers’ circle, ‘The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd’ is a piece presented by Tom Crowley and Meg Henry in a way that leaves its audience wondering why they’d never heard of it before.
‘Greasepaint’ is the musical which is also usually unrecognised as Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s first presentation of classic song ‘Feeling Good’, now far outstripping ‘Greasepaint’ in terms of fame. Thankfully this song, presented by Laura Horton as ghostly character The Other in the play and Jamie Oliver’s five-piece band, is a measured, emotionally charged performance that does more than show off the vocals of this particular cameo performer. Rather than simply belting her way through the song, Horton succeeds in holding back until its final notes, which themselves aren’t oversung or overdrawn, yet do seem to serve only to show off her voice rather than keep the fragile, capturing nature of the song constant to its finish.
Yet the true power in this show doesn’t come from its cameo performers, as brilliant as Giles Littlewood, Rosie Fletcher and Laura Horton are, but rather in the strength of its chorus and lead performers, most notably Dan Wood as Sir and Chris White as Cocky. The constant interchange between Wood and White as they battle over Sir’s “game” is a power struggle not fully realised until the performance’s stunning finale, leaving the game alone centre stage, as it was at the opening to the play.
This opening, provided by a lengthy overture and a fully lit stage is an interesting choice, with the facing ranks of audience providing two sides of a square set, the third taken up by the band and an entrance, the fourth providing the main entrance to the stage and a bright red curtain. Centre is a hopscotch board, the arena for Sir’s game, deceptively childlike and simple in appearance despite its cruel nature later in the play.
Unfortunately the design of the set and its subsequent lighting serve to damage rather than enhance the piece. Poor lighting leads to many facial expressions being lost, not helped by actors sometimes seemingly unsure as to which direction they should be facing. Whilst much was gained from the choice of set design, it seems more was lost by the subsequent effect on lighting and staging. Of particular note are the shadows created by the hats used in the piece, obscuring the faces of those wearing them, and the distinct lack of lighting in the centre of the stage compared with its edges, meaning some details of the action happening around the hopscotch board could be lost. The visual gem of the piece, however, is the costume design, perfectly capturing the sentiments of each character.
The impact these moments have on the performance are notable and disappointing, but they ultimately don’t take away from the strength of Wood and White’s acting, and their handling of the play’s vocally challenging singing. Both succeed in portraying their characters well, yet neither seem to go quite far enough – you’re left at the interval unsure whose side you’re really on. Whilst this can be a strength of the piece, it seems as if Wood’s character could be more hateful, with White’s becoming more lovable, though that is perhaps only one reading of the text.
In a multi-faceted musical like ‘Greasepaint’ it is impossible to comment on every aspect of the performance, but rest assured this is a play worth seeing, even if it retains some rough edges. ‘Greasepaint’ may need a rethink in terms of some of its technical aspects but overall it provides a laugh-out-loud comedy with some truly brilliant moments, despite the fact that these are let down by poorly executed technical ideas.