Review: BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOL, Southwark Playhouse Borough

There is something that remains so alluring about the chaotic and ultimately tragic lives of F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. The booze, the breakdowns, not to mention the immense talent. Michael Greif's new musical, Beautiful Little Fool, tells their tempestuous story from the perspective of their adult daughter, Scottie. An intriguing concept, but the show fails to get beyond something shallow and unsatisfying.

Wandering around a family archive on her 48th birthday, Scottie recalls her parents' turbulent lives and her own erratic childhood. The couple encapsulated the very definition of living fast and dying young (F Scott died aged just 46, Zelda aged 47) as Scottie tells us how they met, formed a creative partnership and their early demises.

Lauren Ward makes an impression as Scottie, bringing believable emotion and gravitas to the role. The problem is that we learn little about her character except she cleared up after her parents' parties and managed to outlive them both.

As F Scott, David Hunter is not quite tortured enough as the alcoholic and tormented writer. His vocals are strong, but he struggles to make much of the one-dimensional character he is given.

An able Amy Parker steps in for Hannah Corneau as Zelda, but can bring little vibrancy to what should be a complex role. It is not the fault of the performers: you wait for zippy, nuanced repartee and passionate arguing between the pair, but it never materialises.

Corneau also writes the music and lyrics; she avoids what might be seen as a jazz cliché and focuses on an inoffensive soft rock soundtrack, but this lacks any really memorable tunes. In stark contrast to the lyrical and vivid style of the couple themselves, clunky lyrics sound like they could have been written by ChatGPT. The band, however, are accomplished and give off a vibrant sound.

Shankho Chaudhuri’s detailed set design is impressive, with endless bookshelves, intriguing boxes and a large, sweeping staircase taking some of the action to a second level. It's a shame that Ben Stanton's lighting design is so blinding in its use of rotating spotlights, as the lamps dotted around the set create a nicely moody atmosphere.

There is so much potential material to explore, but Mona Mansour's stodgy book leaves you feeling like you have learnt very little. There is an attempt to lever a feminist aspect into the production; we see F Scott passing off Zelda's work as his own and Scottie rages against her mother's incarceration into a mental institution because she was a woman punished for not conforming to social norms. But there is no attempt to explore these things or say anything new or interesting.

The most touching scene is when Scottie visits her mother in the mental institute, which actually feels like it starts to get below the surface of some of their issues. It makes a stark contrast with the rest of the rather glib production. A conclusion suggesting the couple were in love, so everything else is forgiven is both glib and jarring.

Zelda and F Scott Fitzgerald were complex, conflicted, flawed, talented and intensely interesting. Beautiful Little Fool is a wasted opportunity to explore all these aspects and ultimately reduces this fascinating couple into flat and dull cardboard cutouts.

Beautiful Little Fool runs at the Southwark Playhouse Borough until 28 February

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