BWW Reviews: BEAUTIFUL THING, Arts Theatre, April 18 2013

Returning to the West End for a short celebratory run to mark its 20th anniversary before heading out on tour, Jonathan Harvey's appealing love story remains resolutely a product of its time. Director Nikolai Foster has made the wise decision to keep the story rooted in the mid-1990s, with the characters' pop culture references including Richard and Judy, Erasure and Wincey Willis. But does the story still resonate two decades down the line?

Of course it does. The strength of Beautiful Thing lies in Harvey's sympathetic characters and sharp, quotable dialogue, which a talented cast deliver with gusto in this revival. In particular, the barbs slung between single mother Sandra (SurAnne Jones) and Mama Cass-obsessed teenage neighbour Leah (Zaraah Abrahams) zing around the stage like a high-velocity squash game, and Abrahams makes fine work of a discussion about geography that quickly turns into an onslaught of sexual puns.

At its heart, this is a story about love, as sports-phobic Jamie (Jake Davies) falls for shuffling, athletic neighbour Ste (Danny-Boy Hatchard), a romance which quickly gathers pace thanks to Ste seeking refuge in Jamie's flat to avoid his violent father and brother, and sleeping top-and-tail in Jamie's small bed. The groundwork for the boys' relationship is laid smoothly in Foster's production - Jamie absent-mindedly fondling Ste's shirt as it dries on an airer in an early scene is a lovely, subtle moment - and both Davies and Hatchard play the tentativeness of first love with complete sincerity. (There's also a fantastic visual joke with a pillow near the end of Act One, which I won't spoil here.)

Despite this being very much Jamie and Ste's story, Jones earns her star-billing with a spot-on performance as the brittle Sandra, perfectly balancing the character's breezy confidence and fiery temper with her inner vulnerability, especially when she discovers what her son and his best friend have been getting up to. Both Jones and Davies do their best work of the night in the ensuing confrontation, rendering the fear, anger and love felt by both characters entirely palpable. Rounding out the cast, Oliver Farnworth plays Sandra's hemp-drenched boyfriend Tony - usually the most disposable part of the story - with goofy charm, finding plenty to relish in his character's well-meaning but generally misjudged attempts to relate to Sandra and provide a father figure for Jamie.

Harvey's script has aged well, and although it's a heartwarming story with an upbeat ending, it retains enough edge not to be an out-and-out fairytale. It's hard to resist the show's optimism, especially with the frequent joyful bursts of Cass Elliot between scenes. It left me looking forward to the show's 25th anniversary in 2018 - I'm sure it'll still seem ripe and relevant.

Beautiful Thing is playing at the Arts Theatre, London, until 25 May and then touring. Visit www.beautthing.com for tickets and venue information.

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