Review: Savoy! Everybody’s Doing It, Phoenix Arts Club

There is a lot to enjoy in Savoy! Great characterisation, superb harmonies, much laughter, but there are also several things about it that left me confused.

The show has the feel of Chicago meets Cabaret, but on a Fringe budget. The use of the large video screen is effective in denoting scene changes, with the set simply being five French-bistro-style wooden chairs. After the glorious and atmospheric opening number, we are greeted by the all-knowing and mercurial narrator, played by Kilke John. She talks directly to the audience and claims to read minds – this is the first bump in the road for me, I felt it didn’t work. There are obviously some very agreeable audience members who go along with the interactions, but I’m not sure the specific ideas related to infidelity are well chosen – they are also exclusively heteronormative.

John then introduces two couples with struggling relationships. Julia Joy and Will Thompson-Brant are an established couple who want different things. Joy is a musician who wants to write a break-out hit rather than settle down in a marriage. Charles Blyth fancies his boss Jess Ryan but is too nervous to say anything without a push and a rewind from the all-powerful narrator. What follows are snippets of their stories and the ways in which they interweave, along with the meddling of the narrator – she doesn’t just want to tell the story, she wants to manipulate it and be a part of it. The real reasons for her actions only revealed at the end.

The narratives work well, but some of the references are confusing. The couples seem to live in 1920s London and so telegrams are sent and received, often typed using a typewriter (the only prop). It’s cleverly used in the same ways that a contemporary couple might be seen on their smartphones, tapping away, half-listening. This nod to the present works and more could be made of it, however there is a point when the characters talk about exchanging texts and videos – this bump knocks us out of the ‘20s and feels misplaced. So did the Nokia Ringtone! This was to signal to the narrator that they are getting a call, which would have been fine if the character making the call wasn’t at the Savoy. Speaking of the Savoy this was a place that was the focal point of the interweaving storylines, but it is also used as a euphemism (everybody’s doing it) and as a dance with accompanying song. It’s clever word-play, again befitting of the Roaring Twenties.

Another highlight are the songs. In some ways this show could be referred to as a gramophone-musical, as it uses operettas from the 1920s and ‘30s played by the show’s musical director Samuel Macdonald. These perfectly connect with the narratives. Macdonald doesn’t just play brilliantly, he was also co-opts into the cast, as there are no walls to this production. Several times the cast enter the audience space with interactions facilitated by John. This further demonstrates the cast’s skill: great singers and performers with strong characterisation which can sustain ad lib and improvisation. And there’s not even time to mention the tap routine!

There’s room for some edits to make this a fantastic show, but even so I thoroughly enjoyed these 75 minutes in the company of some very talented and hardworking performers.

Music by: Imre Kálmán, Jenő Huszka, Szabolcs Fényes, Pál Ábrahám, Ferenc Lehár, Samuel Macdonald
Writer and Director: Julia Joy
Associate Director: Will Thompson-Brant
Musical Director: Samuel Macdonald
Creative Producer: Norbert Potornai
Production by: NP&JOY Entertainment

Savoy: Everybody’s Doing It was reviewed at a preview show in London. It now plays at EdFringe until 25 August. Further information available here.