The Boys From Syracuse - Upstairs at the Gatehouse Review

Reviewed by Alice Clayton at Upstairs at the Gatehouse

The Boys from Syracuse is a musical which has been around since the 1930s, debuting on Broadway in 1938.

It's had many revivals; from off-Broadway, its West End run in 1963, to the Judi Dench directed revival in 1991, but in truth, it's a show which has fallen under the radar.

Photo by Flavia Fraser-Cannon

The Boys from Syracuse is based on William Shakespeare's 'The Comedy of Errors', with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and the book by George Abbott.

The plot for those who do not know The Comedy of Errors: Identical twins Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of Syracuse, separated from each other after a shipwreck as young children. Their servants, both named Dromio, are also long-separated identical twins. When the pair from Syracuse come to Ephesus, a comedy of errors and mistaken identities ensues when the wives of the Ephesians, Adriana and her servant Luce, mistake the two strangers for their husbands. Adriana's sister Luciana and the Syracuse Antipholus fall in love putting the whole plot in jeopardy...but never fear, all (of course) ends happily.

I've never been to the Upstairs at the Gatehouse Theatre and I must say, I liked it very much. A great space with a large stage which allows so much to be done, especially with a musical. Entering the auditorium you are presented with a nice looking set and a few props. The backdrop having a few parody advertisements for those with a keen eye. 

The pitch of the band was a lovely level, not overbearing to the vocalist at all, and the band were tight. A very well done to the technicians mixing the sound, here. I especially liked the percussionist, shifting between the kit drum and xylophone.

The opening number of the show did not wow me, sadly. In fact, it was the worst number in act one. Sung perfectly well, but far too many errors in the choreography, with one particular member of the cast constantly shifting her eyeline to those around her to see what she should be doing next, which then meant she was out of time. As the opening number, it needed an assured performance but unfortunately too many mistakes were obvious. This put me in the headspace of thinking the worst. This, added with a few costumes which were ill-fitting and badly finished (Antipholus's costume looked far too big for him) started to make me nervous...

But! I must say, after this, the show picked up.

Photo by Flavia Fraser-Cannon

John Faal and Brendan Matthew were a reassuring presence, both portraying the two central characters with ease. Or is that the four central characters..?! Their subtle changes between the twins was very well done. My highlight of the show was Karen Wilkinson, who very much knew what she was doing, eeking every joke from the piece and commanding the stage every time she entered.

Act one, despite being only an hour did drag at times. Too many clunky set changes that in truth weren't needed. Although this cast were small (eight in total) I did feel the director could've used the space to better effect. Blocks were used a lot to show different settings but heavily placed down and often moved in scenes when they didn't need to be moved at all. With the size of the stage, there could've easily been some areas divided into set spaces. This would also make it a little more pleasant for the audience sitting on the sides. Performing on three sides is not always easy, but you can set your show accordingly to accommodate that with a cast of this level of skill.

Act two's crystal ball scene was a prime example of how not to set a scene. Why tell your two actors to stand right at the front of the stage with their backs to both sides, only allowing the front to be part of this moment, and revealing your gag for the front only? With the depth if the stage, there was ample space to set the actors further back and give everyone a chance to see the reveal.

Act two was only about forty-five minutes and moved with great pace. The story of who is who was well settled in and the leads held the audience, but unfortunately a few hiccups still appeared which was a shame.

The show saved its best joke for the final scene. A play about two sets of twins with no twins in the cast was always going to present a challenge. You watch the climax knowing at some point the pair of twins must be revealed on stage together...and soon. The director worked a fabulous idea here. I will not say what it is, but it was worth sitting in the audience to see Enzo Benvenuti receive the biggest laugh of the night with a wonderfully well delivered line. 

As I said in my pre-summery, The Boys from Syracuse first aired on Broadway in 1938 and you can feel the age of the piece. A lot of it feels very twee with characters that would be written very differently now. Wives who accept their husbands infidelities, and seemingly - with glee! Master telling his servant how all he needed to keep his wife happy was to treat her mean. The truth is, it's a little uncomfortable to witness this type of show by a modern standard, however tongue in cheek.

The songs aren't particularly memorable, and sadly the choreography wasn't either. Again, some capable cast members who could've been given much more to do letting others rest a few bits out...but the singing was very good from everyone. The harmonies were tight and well executed. 'Sing for Your Supper' was in particular, excellent.

The cast in the main did what they were set to do very well, with a couple in the ensemble roles standing out for the wrong reasons.

Photo by Flavia Fraser-Cannon

Overall, at times it's a fun show, but with too many lapses that I couldn't ignore.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Boys from Syracuse plays at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in London until Sunday 29th September 2024. Tickets are available from http://www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com/