It's a measure of Stephen Sondheim's prolificness as a composer-lyricist that no fewer than four separate anthologies have been drawn from his work. This one, originally premiered at Oxford's Old Fire Station in 1992, focuses on romantic disillusionment. And, although the actors apologise in advance for the image of the World Trade Centre that adorns programme and posters, the show offers a tonic reminder of the wry sophistication that characterises Sondheim and that has always been central to a currently traumatised New York.
Is it insensitive in present circumstances to enjoy the show? I don't think so, because it celebrates the imperishable values of wit, melody and an unsentimental realism about human relationships. Admittedly, not all the numbers - sung by two couples and an eavesdropping interloper - gain from being taken out of context. Lovely, from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, loses some of its bite when it is sung by two women rather than a narcissistic boy and girl. And Everybody Ought to Have a Maid, from the same show, is not greatly enhanced by being played as a teasing duet between a female employer and her pinafored male servitor.
But what the show does, through ingenious juxtaposition, is to demonstrate how youthful ardour gives way to middle-aged ennui. It also shows how Sondheim, often accused of mere cerebral cleverness, has a poetic understanding of the unsatisfied heart. Loneliness and longing are the two themes that run through the show. Sometimes it's the solitude of the individual, as in Bobby's final number from Company, Being Alive. More often it's the mutual loneliness of marriage, as in the marvellous lyric playlet, Country House, in which a rich couple expose their isolation by planning ever more unrealisable diversions.
Played against a background of a towering drinks cupboard filled with multi-hued bottles, Edward Hall's production has a chic simplicity. The singing voices are variable in quality, but Linda Thorson projects The Ladies Who Lunch with a rasping punch, and Matt Rawle and Julie-Alanah Brighten impress as a younger couple caught, in a song called Bang!, in the throes of erotic ecstasy. But, as Sondheim constantly shows, the rapturous pleasures of youth exact a heavy middle-aged price.
Until September 29. Box office: 01243 781312.
