The Grand Babylon Hotel is a major part of the New Vic Theatre’s contribution to Stoke-on-Trent’s centenary celebrations of its city status and gives the much acclaimed theatre in the round the chance to add another feather in its cap by producing a world premiere of its adaptation of the Arnold Bennett novel of the same name.
Whether or not the Potteries’ favourite literary son ever intended his mystery thriller to become a rollicking piece of theatre may be a moot point but the playwright and directorial skills of Deborah McAndrew and Conrad Nelson have produced a must see play that had the audience rolling in the aisles.
American billionaire Theodore Racksole (Adrian Pang) and his daughter Nella (Alice Pryor) have booked a stay in the luxurious Grand Babylon but cause problems immediately with Theodore’s demands that he has a particular cocktail prepared in precisely the same way every evening and his daughter’s request for a dinner of steak and a bottle of Bass.
Maître d’ Jules (Michael Hugo) informs the young lady that her choice is not on the menu and returns to say that the chef Rocco (Thomas Cotran) refuses to prepare the meal.
The billionaire’s response is draconian. He goes down to the kitchen and on his return announces that he has not only paid for the chef but has bought the entire hotel from Mr Babylon.
Theodore soon regrets his rash decision. Within hours of his purchase, he has lost the services of Jules and his clerk Miss Spencer (Shelley Atkkinson) and finds himself with a dead body on his hands in the shape of Reginald Dimmock – equerry to Prince Aripert of Posen.
Dimmock has passed away in suspicious circumstances and the mystery deepens when the police arrive in the form of Detective Marshall. The police officer causes confusion when he questions the father and daughter and matters soon worsen.
The body cannot be found – it is later discovered that Rocco has a sideline in embalming – and Nella has her suspicions that Jules and Miss Spencer are somehow involved in the death. These thoughts become more entrenched when a mystery lady who calls herself Baroness Zerlinski checks out.
Despite the growing realisation that Nella and Prince Aripert are becoming an item, the young woman is determined to tail the Baroness to determine the truth leaving her father to pace his new purchase at night and ponder on the non-appearance of heir apparent to the throne of Posen Prince Eugen who is desperate to meet a financier.
In a whirl of chaos there are shootings and kidnapping, dramatic rescues and a miraculous recovery from his deathbed by Eugen before the magnificent mayhem comes to a conclusion.
As in many New Vic productions, there is a small cast that plays numerous roles. Pang and Pryor make excellent debuts at the theatre and play just the one role each as they play their parts with crisp comic timing. The other characters are shared between Hugo, Atkinson and Cotran with costume changes often taking place on stage.
Hugo is his normal ebullient and adaptable self. It has been said that he has never given a bad performance and he has once again enhanced his reputation with a highly positive and varied presentation. Meanwhile Atkinson and Cotran continued to show their acting prowess following recent star performances in Marvellous and One Man Two Guvnors respectively.
Great acting but the play would not be the same without the efforts of the creative team. Lis Evans has once again designed a delightful set; original music has been composed by James Atherton and there are lovely lighting/projection and sound designed by Daniella Beattie and Damian Coldwell respectively.
A special mention must be given to Movement Director/Choreographer Beverley Norris Edwards who has produced many magical moments alongside Physical Comedy Director Nick Haverson. The rescue from the yacht in the English Channel and Pang exploring the secret passage were particular highlights for me.
This was another top class evening of entertainment provided by the New Vic which is a true jewel in North Staffordshire’s crown and the team of McAndrew and Nelson is very much a creative team that is increasing its well-earned reputation production by production.
The Grand Babylon Hotel is a delightful mixture of great acting and huge entertainment and the cast and creative team fit together like the Savoy Hotel and the definition of luxury. Whether I would want to stay overnight at the Babylon is dubious but you should relish an evening of pure entertainment.
Continues until October 4th with a running time of approximately 2 hours 25 minutes including interval. For ticket information contact 01782 717962 or tickets@newvictheatre.org.uk
