Spring 2009: Alfie

Imperial Productions presents

Alfie

by Bill Naughton

Tuesday 17th - Friday 20th March 2009 at 7.30pm
Saturday 21st March at 3pm and 7.30pm

The Barons Court Theatre | The Curtain's Up Pub | London W14

Tickets £12 (£10 Concessions)

Reviews of 'Alfie'

Any person enjoying the rare opportunity of seeing the play which Bill Naughton adapted into his iconic 60s Brit movie, ‘Alfie’, may be forgiven for expecting a trite period piece. This production by Imperial Productions, however, proved that well written drama can transcend its own era to be a timeless comment on society. In this case the hedonistic, amoral, youth culture of the 60s which Naughton looked at from the viewpoint of an everyday working class environment, rather than the gaudy excess of the beautiful people of the ‘Kings Road’. Because of its very ordinariness this play has a relevance which can still be felt today when personal gratification and amorality is so often extolled over social responsibility.

I consider that this shows the futility of the recent film re-make of ‘Alfie’ which so bowdlerised the original script in an attempt to modernise it, that it lost site of the timeless quality of the original. This opportunity to view the script in its original dramatic form served to prove this, aided by the sparse production, the claustrophobic environment of the tiny subterranean Barons Court Theatre, and an excellent ensemble cast. The sensitive direction of David Phipps-Davis and Dan Young’s splendid lighting design (such as the passage of time ingeniously depicted by small changes in the lighting) gave us a production which utterly justifies Imperial’s new artistic directions.

At its heart ‘Alfie’ is a simple morality tale in which the eponymous ‘anti-hero’ slowly discovers the reality of his philosophy of life. This takes place through a series of scenes that resemble an updated ‘Rake’s Progress’. Naughton ingeniously makes the audience complicit in Alfie’s behaviour by breaking down the theatrical ‘fourth wall’ allowing Alfie to talk to the audience with an arrogant assumption that we will understand if not condone his behaviour. This is a frequently uncomfortable sensation for the audience, particularly when he is so obviously showing a cavalier disregard for the lives that he playing with, exemplified by his use of the pronoun ‘it’ to refer to a female conquest of which he is tiring. But Alfie is a charmer, that is why he can indulge himself in all the sex he desires, and his self delusional protestation that he ‘just wants people to be happy’ is predicated on the assumption that if he is happy then everyone around him will also be.

The success of a production of this play necessarily depends on the casting of Alfie Elkins, and in Adam Mendlesohn Imperial was fortunate to find a youthful performer who could portray this villain with the likeable charm of everyone’s best mate. This is a tall order for a young actor and there were times when Adam struggled to pull it off, notably during the first scene where his delivery was often too glib and not as relaxed and assured enough to depict Alfie at this stage in his progress. This scene is the hardest to make work, being largely just a two hander with Alfie and Gilda, the woman he comes closest to really loving, the mother of his child. Eventually Alfie shows his inherent inability to love, and Gilda chooses domesticity with a boring but honest man to the excitement of life on the edge with Alfie. In this Adam Mendlesohn was wonderfully supported by the moving and honest portrayal of Gilda by Kelly Woodgate, a woman prepared to take almost any abuse but with the final strength of will to get out before she is destroyed.

The second scene contains more broad humour and some wonderful ensemble performances, giving Adam Mendlesohn more opportunity to display the strutting arrogance of Alfie philosophising and womanising with apparent impunity. Many of the finest comic lines were given to ‘Joe’ the taxi driver acquaintance, who was portrayed with consummate relish by Joe Cronin. His facial expressions whilst oafishly listening in on other characters private conversations were hysterical, and a lovely touch of direction. It was interesting to note the command of the stage exercised by the more ‘experienced’ performers such as Joe Cronin and Viv Creegor as compared to the younger performers whose subtle ‘TV style’ acting made me wonder if they would easily transfer to a stage less intimate than the Barons Court.

Having said which there was not a week performer amongst the cast, something one can hardly ever say when watching a West End play these days. There were some lovely portrayals, such as Emma Pollard’s performance of Annie, the pathetic and brutally damaged waif who is further abused by Alfie’s disdain. Also worthy of mention is Jamie Biddle as ‘Lofty’ whose animal like energy made a mountain out of his small supporting role.

The other performance which stood out was that of Elyse Marks as Lily who tragically goes from devoted wife to being morally broken by Alfie’s debauching. There is almost a quaint period flavour to the angst which surrounds the abortion which destroys Lily and brings Alfie to a final realisation of the consequences of his lifestyle. It must be remembered that in a modern age when abortion is so commonplace we are inclined to ignore and even censor the fact that behind every abortion is a personal tragedy. In an age when abortion was illegal as well as immoral, this tragedy is able to be seen as devastating. This allowed Adam Mendlesohn to finally shine when he graphically describes discovering the aborted foetus and finally decides that he must change his life. The real tragedy however is the fact that Alfie is lost and there is seemingly no redemption for him. He is effectively a motherless child, who decides that the woman to whom he can finally give himself is the older mother figure. It is her rejection of him that leaves Alfie (through a fabulously stricken Adam Mendlesohn) asking us in utter incomprehension “What’s it all about”. He will never know or be able to understand, and we the audience are left both judging him and asking ourselves what a life without social responsibility is all about.

- Ellis Charles Pike

'Alfie' is funny and poignant, and the two intervals break it into easily digested sections which keeps the attention even of a goldfish like me.

Kacey Barnfield is really compelling as Siddie and I left wishing her character had more stage time. Maybe all her screen experience has set her up well for such an intimate space as Barons Court, where she's very close to the audience but totally believable.  Equally convincing I thought was Kelly Woodgate as Gilda. Joe Cronin is hilarious as a taxi driver, scene stealing.  Sky News's Viv Creegor was a gorgeous middle-aged seductress.  Alfie (Adam Mendelsohn) carries the show which is a gargantuan undertaking, providing heaps of narrative as well as dialogue.  No-one was weak but you can't just go through saying good good so I won't.

David Phipps-Davis has made ingenious use of the minimal scenery, using eight wooden boxes to create beds, counters and consulting rooms to great effect.  Lighting and sound were flawless from Dan Young and I thought Adrian Jeakin's sound design was really effective without intruding.  Costumes all worked well, with some nice period garb from Eirian Walsh Atkins.

- Geoff Coates

Congratulations on a very successful week. I thought your production was a textbook example of how to stage a play in a Fringe venue. A pleasant company (very easy to work with); great publicity; a smooth get in; excellent choice of play; a clever set; and well-pleased audiences! Your only mistake was to limit this to just 6 performances - this one could have run for weeks...

It goes without saying (but I've already said it) that we would be delighted to see you come back again! Working with companies and productions like yours make my job a real pleasure. Best wishes for your continued success.

- Ron Philips, artistic director of the Baron's Court Theatre

What's it all about?

As Jude Law discovered, there is an inherent risk in resurrecting a somewhat iconic character from our past and presenting it to a modern audience. Alfie Elkins is a product of and a reflection of his time, he's what people think of when they refer to 'the sixties', along with The Beatles, Carnaby Street and the Mini Skirt. So upon taking my seat in the atmospheric and intimate Barons Court Theatre, I was wondering, was Alfie coming to visit us, or were we about to visit him?

Unfortunately, I'm still none the wiser after this quirky, and highly uneven play.

The play follows our hero, Alfie Elkins (Adam Mendlesohn) through various episodes in his life, as he dallies with various women with sublime amorality. His outlook is selfish with a refreshingly honest philosophy about exactly what (thinks) he wants out of life. Alfie is a rakish cad, a charmer with an eye for the ladies, a cheeky chappie and a solid mate.

Mendlesohn tackles this role willfully, however, unfortunately he doesn't display the innate charisma needed to reel the audience into his misogynistic world of birds, shagging and light ale. His asides to the audience, whilst sometimes hitting the spot, often fell flat. Perhaps as a modern audience, we were wary of associating ourselves with such an un-PC protagonist - and as such Mendlesohn seemed to find it difficult to keep us engaged in his story. Without any real depth to the character it was hard to sympathise with Alfie, leaving him a simple, boorish, cockney thug - albeit a well dressed one.

As different women come into and out of Alfies life, we are treated to a number of vignettes of differing levels of quality and style. In his dalliances with Gilda (Kelly Woodgate), and Lily (Elyse Marks) both actresses prove more than a match for Alfie, with excellent performances. Elyse Marks in particular is excellent, as she presents Alfie with the harsh consequences of his actions after a harrowing backstreet abortion. If the rest of the play had contained half as much power and subtlety as these few tense moments, we were in for a treat.

Unfortunately this was not the case, as the play lacked any specific direction as to what it wanted to be. Music choices were clumsily on the nose ('Baby Love' for the pregnancy, 'She's Not There', when Annie leaves) and the pace and atmosphere of each scene seemed to wildly fluctuate, from the 'comedy' doctor with the Harry Potter glasses, to the sitcom double takes from love rival lofty, to the 'Carry on Doctor' hospital scene, I never got a sense of what this play was actually trying to be.

Or as Alfie might say - "What's it all about?"

- Dan Chasemore for remotegoat.co.uk

What's It All About?

Alfie is not really a bad sort. For him, life is just about enjoying everything women can offer – one night at a time. With sublime amorality, Alfie swaggers and philosophises his way through the play, carefully rejecting anyone that might touch him too deeply.

Alfie is a bawdy comedy, but for those who want more, there is also a lingering tragedy, simply and poignantly told about the taker and the taken. The play premiered in 1963 with John Neville in the title role, and went on to become the 1965 Academy Award nominated film starring Michael Caine. It was again adapted for the big screen in 2004 starring Jude Law.

The Cast
Adam Mendlesohn as Alfie	Joe Cronin as Joe / Mr. Smith	Justin Mitchell Davey as Humphrey / Perc	Jake Lyons as Harry / Sharpey	Jamie Biddle as Lofty
Emma Pollard as Annie	Kelly Woodgate as Gilda / Carla / Vy	Elyse Marks as Lily	Viv Creegor as Doctor / Flo / Ruby	Kacey Barnfield as Siddie