Review: ROMAN HOLIDAY, Theatre Royal Bath

Looking for a feelgood summer show for all the family?

Something Granny can reminisce about with memories of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck (sigh) in the original 1953 Oscar-winning film.  Something that your kids will give the thumbs up for its “retro” vibe. And a dash of la dolce vita for you and your partner, as if you were actually on holiday in the Italian capital.

Then I’d advise booking seats for the new, musical stage adaptation (by Kirsten Guenther and Paul Blake) of the film, Roman Holiday, at Theatre Royal Bath.

Of course, Bath’s the perfect place to see this production about cloistered Princess Ann (a standout performance by Rebecca Collingwood) escaping from a palace to spend 24 joyful hours with conflicted newspaper reporter, Joe Bradley, in Rome.

Both Bath and Rome have plenty of ancient history, curved arches and glorious honey-coloured buildings. You even have to pass the Roman Baths to get to the Theatre Royal Bath, so it feels like a wise-cracking musical with lush, Cole Porter tunes was destined to kick off here.

It’s a hard act to follow debonair Gregory Peck, but we’re in safe hands with accomplished Michael D Xavier, who recently toured as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady. He successfully conveys the struggle of a newsman wanting to get an exclusive interview with the princess, while at the same time respecting her privacy. Ironically, this is a kind of reverse My Fair Lady, where a rich royal wants to hang out with common folk.

Other performers worth noting include Adrian Der Gregorian as photographer Irving, Tania Mathurin as ebullient singer Francesca and Richenda Carey as the Countess.

Olivier-award winning director Jeremy Sams lights up the stage with a fast-paced show (things really start to take off in the second act) that pretty much sticks to the plot of the film. He conveys the bustling Eternal City where there’s always something happening, to the delight of the young princess who wants to sip drinks in a café, eat gelato and go dancing.

Set and costume designer Francis O’Connor has a ball with the period look. Flippy dresses with crinolines, bright yellow trousers and purple and blue berets for the women; and dapper hats and baggy trousers (that I think have come back into fashion) for the men. Eye-piercing hues in costumes contrast nicely with soft pinks and greys of crumbling buildings and an old Wall of Wishes.

Lighting designer Mark Henderson splashes bright and sunny light over Rome as expected, but he also gives us subtle moments with soft, buttery streetlights where the princess and the newsman sing romantic duets. Choreography by Matt Cole and Jane McMurtrie is joyous, especially a routine that involves chairs.

For anyone not convinced by turning a Fifties film into a musical today, Roman Holiday is more relevant than you’d think. References to Princess Ann having to be dutiful to her country ­– rather than open and free like singer Francesca ­­– chimes with debates about the recent behaviour of Harry and Megan (who did escape palace walls for a new life in California). As Joe sagely says to the princess, “Life isn’t always what one likes.”

We also watch the princess become her own woman, a fine feminist message, by the end of the show. She accepts her situation, but on her own terms, refusing to be too molly-coddled by attendants.

At the end of the day, however, the real star of the show is neither strong royal princess or a rare portrait of journalist behaving nobly. It’s a shiny, green Vespa. The audience goes wild when it whizzes about. It even upstages the curtain call.

I love most things about this pleasant musical that is a real tonic and works beautifully in Bath. But if the production is to move on to a bigger venue, or to the West End, it might require just a bit more chutzpah to get there. I do hope it progresses during its current run, so audiences elsewhere can also revel in this splendido burst of upbeat exuberance.

Roman Holiday runs at Theatre Royal Bath until July 1

Photo credit: Ellie Kurttz

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