The Sunshine Boys
The Savoy Theatre
Performance: 1st May 2012
Walking down the Strand to my favourite theatre in the West End, The Savoy, I began to feel sad I wasn't on my way to see Legally Blonde. As I took my seat I had to continuously remind myself that Sheridan Smith was not about to rise up onto the stage and belt out 'Oh my god you guys'. However as soon as The Sunshine Boys began I completely forgot about Sheridan Smith and fell in love with the incredible Danny DeVito and the work of Neil Simon.
The play is incredibly funny and has a great mix of verbal and physical comedy. Richard Griffiths looks like a great big monster when stood next to Danny DeVito whose performance is so natural that you forget he's acting. He has the gift of comic timing and builds up a special relationship with the audience.
Richard Griffiths however is disappointing as Al Lewis. There was so much talk about his character before his entrance so I was getting excited however when he entered during the second act I was shocked. He seemed like he was struggling to get through the show and his accent was shocking! He started with an american accent but it kept on slipping and sounding English! It wasn't even like he took time to get into it as his accent was consistently terrible throughout the performance which you just don't expect. Although he did make me laugh after the bows when he signalled for the audience to go home and go to bed. I'm not saying he is a bad actor as he has clearly had a respectable career, I just felt like this part is not suited to him.
I loved the way that the characters were each introduced slowly. This kept the show fresh and made the storyline easy to follow. The set was impressive however between the 3rd and 4th act I thought it was unacceptable to just leave the audience in darkness listening the the same sketch they had just seen moments before. They should have at least put a screen down so the audience had something to watch or used some of the underused actors in a little sketch in front of the curtain.
Adam Levy gave a strong performance and had great chemistry with Danny DeVito. I could imagine Alex Gaumond playing that role. Rebecca Blackstone, Nicholas Blakeley, Peter Cadden, William Maxwell and especially Johnnie Fiori gave great performances although were incredibly underused! I wanted to see more of them!!
So if it wasn't for Richard Griffiths' performance, the audience being left in darkness for an extended duration of time and the 4th act being too slow paced I would have definitely given this play a 5 star rating. However I should point out that I did see the show while it was in previews so all of these things could be fixed over time. I would go and see it if you want a good, light hearted night out at the theatre. It has something in it for all ages (although I would not recommend it for children) and will make anyone laugh. You don't have long to see it as the play finishes at the Savoy on 28th July 2012. Head to http://www.sunshineboystheplay.com/ to find out more and to book tickets. TKTS also seems to normally have tickets at a reasonable price.
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