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Showing posts with the label Colin Higgins

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Extraordinary shenanigans: Extraordinary Women - Jermyn Street Theatre

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Compton Mackenzie’s novel about bed-hopping lesbians on Capri (here fictionalised as Sirene) and their escapades gets a musicalised treatment in this intimate show. It’s all a bit silly, really, and not much happens in the end. However, the musical succeeds in evoking a time, a place, and a mood with its sublime music and stellar cast. It’s currently playing at Jermyn Street Theatre . Set in the aftermath of World War I in 1919, Extraordinary Women explores the lives of unconventional women—chiefly English writer Aurora (Caroline Sheen) and her lover, Rosalba (Amy Ellen Richardson). Aurora has purchased a villa on the island with the hope of encouraging her part-time lover, Rosalba, to settle down with her exclusively. However, Rosalba, who is romantically involved with several women and depends on them for her lifestyle, is hesitant to commit. The story revolves around their on-again, off-again romance, along with the various affairs among the other women on Sirene. Meanwhile, the anc...
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Only an older woman: Harold and Maude @Charingcrossthr

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There’s something irresistibly cute and whimsical about this adaptation of Harold and Maude. It’s not as dark or shocking as the film. But the performances and production of this tale of living life and enjoying every stage of it make it a delight. It’s currently showing at the Charing Cross Theatre . Colin Higgins wrote the script to Harold and Maude as his third year film school thesis. Directed by Hal Ashby and starring Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort it bombed on release. Only later did it develop into a cult following. Higgins, who would go on to write and direct the movies Foul Play and 9 to 5 ,  would later adapt it into the play we have here.  The story centres on Harold. He’s a young man stuck in the straight-jacket of middle-class early seventies suburbia. He stages suicide attempts to shock his mother. He goes to funerals of strangers and has generally withdrawn from life. While at one of these funerals he meets Maude. She’s constantly borrowing things; cars, trees, money...
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