It’s with the promise of money, glory and adventure that Captain Plume is recruiting the men of Shrewsbury for the King’s army. He’s also determined to make a conquest of Sylvia, but as she’s now an heiress she can afford to put him to the test. All the while, the scheming Melinda is toying with the affections of Captain Brazen and the gentleman Mr Worthy.
Reviews
The Daily Telegraph
Charles Spencer
“This is one of those rare evenings when one wants to go through almost the entire cast merrily sprinkling praise and approval. The performances are almost all blessed with freshness and revealing comic detail, even in the smallest roles, and the whole show goes with a tremendous swing.”
15/02/2012
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Time Out
Caroline McGinn
“Given the heavy representation of bluff military blokes in British drama, you have to salute a director who - as she showed with a phwoahsome David Tennant-led band in last summer's 'Much Ado' - enjoys making soldiers sexy. The Byronic camp spirit just swells and swells in this hugely fanciable show, where the lads are so impressed with their own chivalry that they even start snogging each other.”
15/02/2012
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The Times
Libby Purves
“It sometimes feels too sugary a trifle.”
15/02/2012
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The Daily Mail
Quentin Letts
“Framing a light play so determinedly in its historical context may be a bit of a cop-out, but the visuals are handsome and the acting will steady from some of the last-preview jitters I saw.”
17/02/2012
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The Observer
Susannah Clap
“As the world loses its wits, the theatre reaches for wit, as it does for farce.”
19/02/2012
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The Stage
Mark Shenton
“The quintessential Donmar show. It looks and sounds gorgeous, it is cast to the nines, and is at once intimate yet expansive, funny and detailed.”
15/02/2012
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The Evening Standard
Henry Hitchings
“A fresh, spirited account of a relentlessly busy play. The dominant notes are fizzy amusement and a festive sexiness. It's an extravagant opener for the new regime at the Donmar. On this evidence, I'm recruited.”
15/02/2012
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The Daily Express
Julie Carpenter
“Rourke has assembled a host of comedic names ... who all deliver excellent individual performances with sufficient theatricality for the frolicking piece this is. ”
15/02/2012
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The Guardian
Lyn Gardner
“Rourke massages it until it swells, and undercuts it with a touching wistfulness. At the end, the rather fabulous band, who also play the men pressed unwillingly into service, march to their deaths to the dying strains of Over the Hills and Far Away. After all the laughter, it is a reminder that war is no joke. This is an evening that is clear-eyed, lacking in cynicism but also resolutely unsentimental.”
15/02/2012
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The Independent
Paul Taylor
“Rourke proves that it is possible to register this toughness in a staging that is nonetheless irradiated with golden good humour. Its shocks are all the more effective for stealing up on you slowly -- as in the sobering finale ... It's an eloquent diminuendo to a production that beautifully balances the alfresco freshness of the piece and its often madly droll knowingness about theatrical convention. ”
15/02/2012
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The Independent on Sunday
Kate Bassett
“Hardly a slice of grim realism, in spite of a programme note professing otherwise. This is a jovial romp, with conniving wiles played for laughs.”
19/02/2012
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