A mixture of the fey and the filthy, the refined and the ribald, this Victorian parlour entertainment (circa 1893) is a very particular 90 minutes, but nonetheless performed with admirable dash and tongue-in-cheek humour.
The Christmas "At Home" of apparently strait-laced Victorian widow Anna Marguerite and her unmarried daughter Clara is rudely interrupted by the arrival of Clara's long lost aunt, the disreputable Arabella. Soon it becomes clear that beneath the veneer of Victorian respectability beat some wild and independent female hearts.
Arabella has been making her living as top-of-the-bill music hall male impersonator Dirty Bertie Bell, and although, as her mother points out, Clara has not been without male suitors ("at times the house was stiff with them") it becomes increasingly obvious that Clara is not the marrying kind. Particularly when Arabella's runaway music hall partner, Wilhemina, turns up disguised as a boy.
Although this cross-dressing alternative festive frolic is clearly aimed at a Drill Hall crowd, the piece is done with such a light touch that it deserves a wider audience. Anyone who loves all those old parlour and music hall favourites, such as Home Sweet Home and I'm the Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, will get a kick out of this, particularly as the songs are arranged and sung so exquisitely. The melding of You Made Me Love You and The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery is just a joy.
The downstairs studio space in the Drill Hall has been cleverly transformed by designer Sophia Lovell Smith into a womb-like Victorian parlour, the cast are determined that the audience enjoy themselves, and there are mulled wine and mince pies for all. A very pleasant way to wind down.
· Until Jan 10. Box office: 020 7307 5060
