For Nöel Coward (Frank Barrie), scrambled eggs and 'a large brandy - oceanic'. His old friend Marlene Dietrich (Kate O'Mara) would like a gin and tonic and 'I don't eat - (growl)'.

But the real diners in writer Chris Burgess's feisty first course are the audience, feeding off two of the 20th Century's greatest entertainers, as they pick over their lives and lovers in a London restaurant circa 1970. Yul Brynner specialised in 'Wagnerian love-making sessions', John Wayne was 'big', James Stewart 'hesitant' - while these days Coward's lucky if 'my lovers have an orgasm in the same room.' Plenty of gags, but with the spectre of cancer an unwelcome guest at the table, a melancholic strain is mixed into the spicy stew.

A quarter of an hour longer, and this would be a fine fringe show in its own right. Frank Barrie and Kate O'Mara give delightful parody-free impersonations. Frank Barrie captures Coward's immaculate timing for a killer one-liner. Kate O'Mara revels in the vampy glamour which made both their names.

But after the interval, the duo return for a less successful fantasy gig. A hotchpotch of greatest hits - and the odd duet such as I Remember It Well from Gigi predictable - it cruelly exposes the gulf between the actress and the icon, as the former fails to locate the magic and voice Kenneth Tynan called Marlene Dietrich's 'third dimension'. Dietrich's singing voice was never her strongest asset, but delivery was everything, and a costume-change and lighting-effects can do little to compensate for Kate O'Mara's muted performance in an occasion best left at lunch.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Frank Barrie - Noël Coward. Kate O'Mara - Marlene Dietrich. Neil Macdonald - Waiter.

Company Credits: Writer - Chris Burgess. Direction and Musical Staging - Stewart Nicholls. Musical Direction and Arrangements - Neil Macdonald. Set and Costume Designer - Lotte Collett. Lighting Designer - David W Kidd. Sound Designer - Marke Dunne. Production Manager - Marcello Manara. Stage Manager and Operator - Jude Cound. Assistant Stage Manager - Anders R Koch. Assistant Stage Manager - Yasmin Sholmalzadeh. Production Electrician - Adam Povey. Production Assistant - Paul Rathbone. Press and Marketing - Ahuva Cohen. Publicity Photography - Francis Loney. Graphic Design - Andrew Connolly.

END

(c) Jonathan Lovett 2008

reviewed Friday 28 March 08 / New End Theatre

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008