Delightfully arch, infused with lithe comedy and set to a sophisticated score, Lord Arthur Saville's Crime at Richmond Theatre gives a full curtsey to Victorian Melodrama.
There's a grand feeling about Richmond Theatre. It's tall and regal and houses perfectly Oscar Wilde's 1891 suspenseful comedy. Lord Arthur Saville's Crime follows the loved-up aristocrat's struggle with free will, fate and a fortunate teller. A palm-reader predicts that in his lifetime, Lord Arthur will commit a murder, only one, and that's about all the detail he'll give. Fearing that his victim could be his fiancée Sybil, Arthur sets about choosing whose clogs to pop from among his eccentric elderly relatives.
Grappling with the issues of predestination and superstition is London's glamorous high society, cartooned enough for us to enjoy the joke. The sets are exaggerated illustrations and the music is a simple, elegant violin and piano combo performed by Anna McNichols and Matthew Wycliffe respectively. Kitted out in flouncy 19th century garb, Anna literally takes her cues from the characters to create an atmosphere that gives a respectful nod to theatrical Victorian melodrama.
Leading man, Lee Mead (Joesph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Phantom of the Opera) acts with his voice. His reserved, terribly English Lord Arthur is a little boring to watch but hilarious to listen to. Mead relishes the script and enjoys his highbrow character but is stiff and spends much of his time on stage standing around with his hands behind his back. What Mead does deliver is Wilde's fascination with double life; and the frequent but momentary suspense as impending doom lurks at each of Lord Arthur's polite meetings with his elderly relatives.
Arthur's fiancée Sybil is played with high vocal drama from Louisa Clein. Although highly entertaining throughout, she too fails to covey much intimacy between Sybil and Arthur. Her ability to deliver Wilde's amusing observations on men, women and marriage is spot on, and as I start thinking this would be just as amusing as a radio sitcom, we are treated to a series of brilliantly arch tableaux.
Mead's wooden body language is balanced by the animated antics of the supporting cast. The
hapless, dodgy palm-reader Septimus Podgers (Gary Wilmot – Chicago, The Wizard of Oz) is both dastardly and brilliant with his bizarre plan-hatching and dodgy palmistry. Also excellent is the explosives 'expert' Herr Winckelkopf (Derren Nesbitt – The Balcony) who encapsulates the larger-than-life, stereotypical 19th century German – “Vait! I am stinking!”. As with much of Wilde's work, there's one female part laps up the eccentricity and runs with it. This comes in the form of Kate O'Mara (Dynasty, The Avengers) who enjoys every moment as Lord Arthur's aunt, the unconventional aristocrat Lady Windemere.
Victorian theatregoers liked their melodrama, but whilst modern audiences might call it forced, director Christopher Luscombe knows what he's doing. His intentions for this light comedy will be appreciated by audiences but are not always fully realised by the cast. Regardless, it's definitely worth seeing such an elegant production in such a fitting venue.
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