If you think about it, we’re all fooled pretty much all the time. Election manifests, education benefits, advertising, job descriptions and even relationships are all based on giving the public what they want to achieve a positive outcome for the person “selling the service” . The good news is that most of the time we are aware of the downside, so know how to react and how far to go to respond to what is on offer, Probably one of the biggest downsides of all is the theater, that’s why I can sit in the Bridewell, look at an old swimming pool and happily accept that it’s Beaumont-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, part of the SEDOS production of Dirty rotten scoundrels.

Beaumont Casino is where you’ll find sleek and sophisticated con artist Lawrence Jameson (Rob Archibald). Lawrence, aided and encouraged by local police chief Andre (Dan Saunders), is very successful at swindling wealthy women like Muriel Eubanks (Louise Roberts) and is actually bored of the ease of her life. Andre warns her that a crook known as “The Jackal” is reportedly visiting the area, but Lawrence ignores him and travels to Switzerland to deposit his ill-gotten gains into his account. On his way home, he sees a brutal American swindling a woman over a meal. Intrigued, Lawrence strikes up a conversation and learns that the man is Freddy Benson (Joey Henshaw). Wondering if Freddy could be the mysterious “Jackal,” Lawrence invites him to return to his villa, where the two begin working together.

“The queen of American soap»Christine Colgate (Imogen Johnson). In a city where things are not necessarily what they seem, the question must be asked, who is going to emerge as the best con artist?

Based on the 1988 film of the same name, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane, Dirty rotten scoundrels, unlike the recent adaptation of Back to the future, this show does credit to the film without trying to reproduce it word for word. It’s a good old school musical that retains the vital elements of the movie but also exists on its own. Unusually for a musical, one of the main characters doesn’t appear until very late in the first act, and a lot of time has been spent establishing Lawrence and Freddy, which in my opinion made the first act a bit too long. However, once the trio got together, the story really took off and went at a good pace, with even enough time to introduce some side, rather sweet, romance for two of the other characters – no spoilers.

The production reaches the extremely high standard that I expect from SEDOS with a cast of 20 and a group of 15 musicians who really tell the story in style. There was a beautiful chemistry between the protagonists, which made their interactions natural and real. Now you’ll have to trust me on this – and go see the show – because I can’t go into too much detail without revealing things, but the relationship between Archibald, Henshaw, and Johnson as Lawrence, Freddy, and Christine respectively. , works at all levels and is nice to see. They, like the rest of this very strong cast, have great singing voices and Henshaw was, to me, the epitome of Freddy.

I’m also going to mention my favorite song and performance from the show, and it was “Oklahoma” performed with real enthusiasm by Jen Bullock as Jolene’s hungry husband. A charming and slightly creepy take on a catchy song that described the “virtues” of marrying a little lady from “The Sooner State”. I loved every second. I can’t leave the cast without mentioning the hard-working ensemble, including the unexpected addition to the crew, who not only provided excellent backing vocals and dancing, but also made the set changes a breeze, including the most flexible roulette table in the world.

SEDOS has been one of my favorite production companies for a long time and after the last few months of containment and material online it was wonderful to see them come back in full force with this production. Director Zoë Thomas-Webb, choreographers Jonathon Grant and Fiona McConachie as well as music director Chris Nelson made sure that everything went smoothly and that the very energetic rhythm of the show was maintained throughout. While there seemed to be a minor issue with the sound levels, particularly in the opening number where the band sometimes drowned out the lyrics, overall the production ran wonderfully and in the words of the number. openness, really “Give them what they want”.

Review by Terry Eastham

Based on the film of the same name, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tells the story of two very different crooks, the good-natured Lawrence Jameson and the vulgar Freddy Benson. The chalk and cheese crooks know they can’t both work at the same complex, so they decide to make a bet.

The first to win $ 50,000 from one of the many wealthy women in the town of Beaumont-sur-Mer on the French Riviera will remain, the loser must leave the town. All they have to decide is who the brand is – and no brand is more loaded and less aware than the American soap queen herself, Christine Colgate.

As they try out their different approaches to getting the dough, they find that Christine is not as easy as they initially thought and this scam is going to be harder and more painful than expected, but more fun than ever. they never had.

TO THROW
LAURENT | Rob archibald
FREDDY | Joey henshaw
CHRISTINE | Imogen Johnson
MURIEL | Louise roberts
ANDRE | Dan Saunders
JOLÈNE | Jen bullock
LENORE | Zo Pisera
SOPHIE | Nicolas Dominique
RENÉE | Mount Paula

TOGETHER
Alex Dehn
Nick Doré
Robbie fulford
Ruth granton
Leon Grozdanovic
Ellie Jones
Adam molder
Eilish Mulvihill
Nathalie Parada
rachel savage
James taverner

CREATIVE TEAM
DIRECTOR | Zoe Thomas Webb
MUSICAL DIRECTOR | Chris Nelson
CHOREOGRAPHERS | Jonathon Grant and Fiona McConachie
PRODUCER | Adam coppard
COSTUME DESIGNER | Edith Webb
LIGHTING DESIGNER | Olly Levet
MARKETING | David Ovenden
STAGE DIRECTOR | Shiri stern
LIAISON COMMITTEE | Marc Siddall

Dirty rotten scoundrels
Book by JEFFREY LANE
Music and lyrics by DAVID YAZBEK
From the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, written by DALE LAUNER & STANLEY SHAPIRO & PAUL HENNING
A sexy and irreverent musical farce
24 NOVEMBER-4 DECEMBER 2021
https://sedos.co.uk/