The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd at Finborough Theatre

The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd at Finborough Theatre

10 June, 2011
by: Naima Khan

A fun revival of a '60s helter-skelter musical.

Musical fans rejoice! Ian Judge's production The Roar of The Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd is not only fun and fast, it's also consistently amusing and beautiful to look at. A '60s musical that bluntly satirises the British class system, Greasepaint follows a twisted game of hopscotch between the portly upper-class Sir and the malnourished Cocky. 

As Cocky tries to get ahead, he's met at every turn with new rules from Sir whose ideas on honesty, integrity and fair play keep Cocky in his place. Not helped by the snotty-nosed Kid, a child absorbing Sir's ideals, Cocky also has to deal with a crew of mischievous Urchins who support whichever side is winning,

The Urchins form the chorus and their antics bring much of the fun to the show which relies on them heavily. It's their musical numbers and dances that place Greasepaint above most off-West End  musicals. Made up to look part mime artist, part Disney mouse, they each have blank white faces with expressive eye-brows, cute button black noses and long stripy socks. Their attire and Tim Goodchild's faultless set design places us right in the centre of a hectic big top with lots at stake. Sir's grand coattails, top hat and shiny accessories set him well apart from Cocky's worn trousers and dirty collar and his severe cartoon-like moustache makes him the perfect loveable villain. 



The only thing that irks me about the musical is that it's a little too simple for 2011. Greasepaint might have been poignant in the '60s but today, if you want to take it seriously that is, it feels a little patronising. Granted, we're anticipating caricatures, but, we're talking about a musical that features a dungaree and straw hat-wearing character called The Negro. Today, that part played by Terry Doe – whose belting rendition of Feeling Good I would happily pay money for -takes on a different image. It would take on more relevance had it been tweaked a little more.

Nonetheless, the songs are great and musical director Ross Leadbeater has the cast lead us round in circles and throw us onto a see-saw of ideas taking us back and forth with the music. Line after line is hilarious and in this perpetually surreal show, there are some real killers from a very animated Sir on the lower-classes: “When I think of the good things that life has to give/ I'm reluctantly forced to agree/ That the number of people who know how to live/ Is restricted, quite simply, to me.”


The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd runs at Finborough Theatre until 2nd July.


Photographer: John Munday

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Naima Khan