Old Vic, London

Kiss Me Kate at The Old Vic

The problem with Kiss Me Kate at The Old Vic is that the team producing it seem to have decided that most of the songs are poor and the Show has to be saved by endless dance. The songs are better than they think and although the choreography is very good, it sprawls.

Alex Bourne is excellent but Hannah Waddingham and Holly Dale Spencer are disappointing, perhaps handicapped by the boss's evaluation of the songs.

One always waits eagerly for "Brush Up Your Shakespeare". Before the song the performances of Clive Rowe and David Burt had been good but had not sparkled enough. They perform the song with wit and some originality and I would give them 8 / 10 for this. Only Alex Bourne sometimes beat this score.

The out of date spanking allusions and performances seem to embarrass the artists and lack conviction.

Overall I give it 6 / 10. Vaut le voyage (just). Cole Porter can be much better than this.

Keith Stanley

Malvern