The theatre reopening business is in overdrive. Purists will love the gorgeous Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, with that imposing yet intimate auditorium now restored to full Regency splendour and its public areas brought up to 21st century standards. Whether they will be so keen on Black Eyed Susan (1829) is, however, another matter.
Artistic director Colin Blumenau has instigated a Restoring the Repertoire project, entailing the return of neglected Georgian dramas. On this evidence, one wonders whether the repertoire shouldn't be left to rest in peace, as Douglas Jerrold's "nautical melodrama" makes heavy work of its supposed frivolity.
Sliding cardboard flats aren't the only two-dimensional things on offer when honest sailor William returns from years at sea to find wife Susan in all sorts of trouble. The cast attack this cobblers wholeheartedly and sing and dance with gusto but Blumenau would be well advised to ration future helpings of this sort of thing very carefully.
Until 22 Sept. (theatreroyal.org).
Black Eyed Susan
Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds
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