Once in a Lifetime

Published Friday 16 December 2005 at 17:50 by Alistair Smith

Big, brash and fun but ultimately unfulfilling, Edward Hall’s revival of Moss Hart and George Kaufman’s satire on twenties Hollywood and the beginnings of the ‘talkie’ strikes a remarkable parallel with the era it depicts.

For while there is much to enjoy in this production - the direction is snappy, the set hugely impressive and the cast well-drilled and finely led by Adrian Scarborough, Victoria Hamilton and David Suchet - it represents very little more than a ‘swell’ evening.

As stagings of the piece go, it would be hard to describe Hall’s as a bad one. It positively zips along and is colourful, cartoonish and larger than life. Indeed, one finds it hard to fault any of the cast or creative team.

However, one is really left scratching one’s head at exactly why the National has decided to revive this play in particular. Surely another would have been more deserving of a makeover.

Unfortunately, for something that really has so little below the surface, one is tempted to feel that it’s not quite as fun as it should be. That said, with the story rattling along and Hamilton turning in a marvellous performance as the only character who can see right through all of Tinseltown’s glitz and glam, it is hard not to enjoy oneself.

The production is at its best during the big set piece numbers, such as the unveiling of a guilt spiral staircase ornamented with golden monkeys which rises from the belly of the NT to set off one of the show’s few musical numbers.

In the end though, it falls down due to a lack of substance and fails to create anything truly memorable. Like its source material it is just a bit too frothy.