Review: REDLANDS, Chichester Festival Theatre

"The quality of mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath." Charlotte Jones’ new play delves into a curious pocket of showbiz history, with Michael Havers QC at the centre of it all. Fresh from a momentous victory, he is personally selected by The Rolling Stones’ manager Allen Klein to defend Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in their upcoming trial - and all the while, his teenage son Nigel is trying to work out how to break the news that he doesn’t want to go into the law, he’d much rather be an actor.

Coming in at just under three hours, this is quite a hefty piece that arguably needs a bit of trimming and refining in places; the first act features a fair amount of clumsy exposition (some of which is later repeated in a much more organic way), and it takes a little while to settle down and tell the story. All of the focus in the marketing has been geared towards the hedonism of the Stones, so it then feels a little bizarre for the play to open with a young Nigel Havers just about to perform in his school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Not that this part of the story isn’t a fascinating inclusion - the court case itself couldn’t carry an entire play, and it seems almost unbelievable that young Nigel could have fostered a friendship with Marianne Faithfull. These two parallel narratives work together to show a clash of generations, as well as suggesting that a change every now and then doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

This production is Artistic Director Justin Audibert’s Festival Theatre debut; it’s clear from the very first moment that he has understood the potential of that auditorium, and wants to mine it for all that it’s worth. Actors frequently dash up into the audience, or sit down with them - and there are even two mini stages set up above doors 1 and 2 where various bits of action take place. Whilst some scene transitions could be a bit slicker, on the whole it is a pretty dynamic production.

Joanna Scotcher’s set design is a fairly minimalist concept, making it easy to switch between various locations with the help of a variety of props. There is great use of an upstage revolve, with a red curtain swishing away to reveal anything from a boutique to a band behind it. Ryan Dawson Laight’s costume design deserves a lot of credit, as it provides a recognisable late sixties look (with slightly more flamboyant pieces for Jagger and Richards, naturally) without veering into parody territory.

The use of music is what transforms this play into a show. It’s staggering to think that a jukebox musical of The Rolling Stones’ discography hasn’t yet made it to the stage, but perhaps this play is the taster that was required to see how their songs would go down in a theatrical environment. The (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction sequence that sees Mick and Keith taken from court to prison is inspired, and the obligatory full ensemble finale had people on their feet with very little encouragement required. The atmosphere by the end was absolutely euphoric.

Louis Landau, on his professional stage debut, takes it all in his stride and holds the play together as Nigel Havers - he’s adept at working the audience, and has excellent comic timing. He also works well with Emer McDaid to forge a believable relationship between Nigel and Marianne; the play, and McDaid’s performance, go some way to rehabilitating Faithfull’s image - the Redlands incident scarred Marianne and sent her down an incredibly dark path.

There are some excellent moments of comedy from Ben Caplan’s brash Allen Klein and Clive Francis’ slightly dotty Cecil “Bongo” Havers, the latter stealing every scene in which he features - even simply brandishing a tambourine in the finale is enough to bring the house down. 

Jasper Talbot and Brenock O’Connor take on the mammoth task of bringing Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to life with aplomb; the two rockers have created quite cartoonish personas for themselves over the decades, so it would have been easy to mimic them and create a 3D caricature - as it is, they have captured the spirit of the pair and made them feel real. They ooze charisma, and are both full of boundless energy.

This is an absolute must for Stones fans, and is also a treat for the locals (West Wittering is less than half an hour away from Chichester). Though in need of a little refining here and there, it’s an undeniably enjoyable night out - a Jumpin’ Jack Smash of a show.

Redlands is at Chichester Festival Theatre until 18 October

Photo credit: Ikin Yum

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