New Perspectives' touring production of Those Magnificent Men, a two hander detailing the accounts of John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown in their bid to become the first men to fly non-stop over the Atlantic, is a piece of theatre with real sparkle. As actors C P Hallam and Richard Earl barrel-roll through the histories of the two men, the audience are sent soaring along on their epic journey across the pond with gusto, swooping and fizzing from the Turkish POW camps of World War One to a dilapidated guest house in Newfoundland or a radio transmission station in County Galway. The action-packed show is filled with information, laughs and some really touching moments, most notably when Hallam tells Earl about Alcock’s death just 6 months after the flight, but it is all fused together well and never over didactic.
Their plane creates a character of its own too, with its bin lid propellers and wings made from folding tables. It has a rickety presence on stage and gave the audience the feeling of being in such a ‘crate’ – quite literally in this case! This device was not over used either, the plane only being constructed at the very end of the first act and then performed upon in the second, allowing for its effect not to be diminished. However the most notable element in the show is the energy which the actors bring to the piece and it is this exuberance the audience pick up on, Alcock and Brown’s excitement transferred onto those watching. Although Those Magnificent Men is essentially a comedy it is one with a big heart, never out for cheap laughs, and plaudits must go to the actors and director Daniel Buckroyd for injecting a vibrant enthusiasm into every facet of the production. A thoroughly enjoyable night out.
Those Magnificent Men: ****
Image courtesy of New Perspectives.
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