Review – Anyone Can Whistle, Jermyn Street Theatre

It seems a curious choice to celebrate Stephen Sondheim‘s 8oth birthday with a Broadway show that lasted for just nine regular performances. That’s probably fewer than Too Close to the Sun (if we could be bothered to check) but if anyone wants to revive that to celebrate the Whingers’ 80th anniversary we will happily hobble along and join in the fun.

But Anyone Can Whistle is rarely revived, so why not? Why not?

Review – Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim, Jermyn Street Theatre

The Jermyn Street Theatre certainly knows how to suck up to the Whingers. Rolling them on their backs and tickling their tummies (sorry, that’s a rather unpleasant image – we do hope you’re not eating) could have produced no greater wagging of tails than took place on Sunday afternoon.

With practised insouciance, the Whingers waltzed (literally, since you ask) into the venue at one minute before the 3pm start time for Stephen Sondheim‘s early musical Saturday Night, yet the Whingers were able to take their second row seats without the hassle of a pre-show scrummage for a decent position.

For there they were: three empty seats (one each for the Whingers, one for Andrew’s “manbag”) at this tiny but perfectly formed fringe theatre. No detestable unreserved seating policy here. The Jermyn Street Theatre proves it can be done: it is possible for a fringe theatre to put numbers on the seats and on the tickets. Three cheers to them!

Of course, their moods were also helped by the fact that the seats were free-of-charge for the Whingers were there at the invitation of the producers and, boy, were they feeling grand. Hence all the insouciance and the waltzing.

Easily bought, they were in very relaxed and generous frames of mind and already on the side of the show before the lights went down.

But the problem was not the venue, it was the piece.