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ED2014 2/5 Reviews ED2014 Theatre Reviews
Larkin About (Antonius Players)
By Dave Fargnoli | Published on Friday 15 August 2014
Misanthropic womaniser and witty, sensitive poet, Phillip Larkin was a contradictory and conflicted character. His life and many, many loves are the subject of this mild biography which mixes his letters and poems with live jazz. The musical interludes are good, if a little short, and are well handled by the solid piano and flute duo. They alternate with episodes from Larkins life, as played by established radio actors Sunny Ormonde and John Telfer. While they have great chemistry, theres a tendency to overplay things. Worse, they regularly refer to the scripts they carry throughout, unforgivably breaking the flow of the poetry. Somehow less than the sum of its parts, this isnt the celebration of drink, sex and jazz it could be.
Valvona & Crolla, until 18 Aug.
tw rating 2/5 | [Dave Fargnoli]