What an Aladdin’s cave of theatrical rediscoveries the Finborough is. This festive-season jewel is an interwar spin on the Cinderella story from Scottish playwright Aimée Stuart, who was a big name in her day, but has since fallen into obscurity. Among the work’s many delights is a wealth of 1930s domestic detail. Look out for the stingy housewife who keeps her tea caddy under lock and key.
Naïve, scrupulous and appealing, our heroine is Jeannie McLean (Mairi Hawthorn), whom we first meet stuck as a drudge to her miser of a father in a “wee one-eyed town”. He dies, leaving her with £200, which she vows to spend on a “holiday… to the world”. Vienna beckons, where a straight-talking
Yorkshire washing-machine inventor and a Viennese count vie for her attention, along with previously unheard of wonders such as an ensuite bathroom.
The whole thing is a bit creaky around the edges but very charming with it. This allows us to overlook the occasional broad or slow moments and the fact there’s slightly too much Scottish patois or non-English speakers having to repeat themselves to be understood.
Hawthorn, onstage almost throughout, is a strong and believably wide-eyed lead, well matched by Matthew Mellalieu as the no-nonsense Stanley Smith. Nicolette Kay’s warm-hearted production conjures a credible selection of locations from a streamlined range of stage furniture and props. Not quite Jeannie-us, but very agreeable.
Until Dec 22 at Finbourough, (01223 357 851, finboroughtheatre.co.uk)
