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Ruthless People: Ruthless - Arches Lane Theatre

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What is it about the Madoff’s that writers can’t resist writing about? Sure, it may have been the largest Ponzi scheme to collapse (so far), but there isn’t much more to explore. Or is there? In Ruthless by writer Roger Steinmann, Ruth Madoff is imagined as a wronged, gun-toting woman anchored in the past while trying to move on with her life. It’s not entirely successful but a fascinating look at life and wig choices, It’s currently playing at the theatre now known as the Arches Lane Theatre in Battersea. Ruth Madoff, played by Emily Swain, is here wearing a wig. I thought it was an odd look until I reviewed how closely it matched the photo of her interview in  The New York Times .  Typically, it’s the sort of wig you might see worn by Ladies on a night out in central London, not someone who once had over $80m in assets. With Bernie in Jail and both her sons now dead - one by suicide and one due to cancer, she is setting a table for the men who have left her. And ordering p...

Quintuple threats: Daisy Pulls It Off @charingcrossthr

It’s a sign of the growing complexity of the world. Tomorrow’s performers don’t just need to be able to act, sing, dance and play a musical instrument. They also need to play hockey. Well at least they do in the graduating group of actor-musicians from the Guildford School of Acting. They’re currently performing Daisy Pulls It Off at the Charing Cross Theatre. The performances are fascinating and at times exhausting to watch. Particularly in the hockey match final. Cast members have musical instruments, tell a story, dance and while playing hockey. Clever buggers.

The show’s about Daisy who is a schoolgirl who has won a scholarship to a girls schools. Being England she has to overcome prejudice and snobbishness of the other school girls. But of course a show with a title suggesting she “pulls it off” you know what’s going to happen.

The show by Denise Deegan dates from the early 1980s. It ran for over 1000 performances in the West End and won an Olivier Award. It’s the type of provincial story (like plays about the Second World War or Winston Churchill) that this country produces. Endlessly. Pluckish young girl overcomes obstacles and wins over all who doubt her. But the endless enthusiasm of the cast keeps things bubbling along.

Marina Papadopoulos is an enthusiastic Daisy. Her best friend Trixie is hilariously played by Katy Ellis. And Persia Babayan-Taylor is a suitable pantomime villain as Sybil Burlington.

The piece is more of a play with music than a musical. The songs “All Through the Night” and “In the Bleak Midwinter” feature. But it’s a showcase for a cast where everyone can play at least two musical instruments. And an opportunity to see graduates who may go on to bigger and better things. You can be smug in knowing you saw them here first. And that’s awfully smashing too.

Directed by Nicholas Scrivens, Daisy Pulls It Off is at the Charing Cross Theatre until 30 June.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

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