Farinelli And The King, Beautiful and The Nether Theatre round-up

Mark Rylance does not care to be described as the finest actor of his generation, so, if he is reading this, he should stop now. His range is extraordinary: not only the greatest Hamlet but the greatest Olivia I have ever seen. He has proved equally remarkable in the light comedy of La Bête, the farce of Boeing Boeing and the absurdism of Endgame.

Rylance’s wife, Claire van Kampen, is well placed to know his strengths: the improvisatory air coupled with cast-iron control; the eccentric speech rhythms that seem preordained. In mad King Philippe V of Spain, first seen fishing in a goldfish bowl and congratulating his clocks on their hard work, she has written a part that plays to many of them.

But Farinelli and the King is far more than a marital tribute. Van Kampen’s witty and touching play, amazingly her first, is an exploration of royal role-play, courtly intrigue and attitudes to insanity that is quite the equal of Alan Bennett’s study of another mad eighteenth century monarch, George III.

Moreover, van Kampen adds an extra dimension in celebrating the healing power of art. Philippe’s Queen (the delightful Melody Grove) engages Farinelli, the world-famous castrato, to sing for her husband, who finds unlikely parallels in their lives.   He soon discovers that music has charms to soothe not only the savage breast but the despondent brow.

Farinelli is tenderly played by Sam Crane in John Dove’s beautifully modulated production. But the crowning glory is that the role is sung by the peerless counter-tenor Iestyn Davies, whose sublime rendition of several Baroque arias fully justifies Philippe’s description of him as angelic.

Carole King’s music may not be in Farinelli’s class and Douglas McGrath’s script for her life story in Beautiful may not be in van Kampen’s, but this show, based on King’s songs and her personal and professional partnership with Gerry Goffin, is charming, funny, and highly enjoyable.

It might almost have been entitled Brooklyn Girl, given that both its genesis and style owe a considerable debt to Jersey Boys. Marc Bruni’s slick production skilfully blends the writing of standards such as Up On The Roof, Will You Love Me Tomorrow and You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling by Goffin and King and their friends, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, with glitzy production numbers.  Katie Brayben as Carole heads an electrifying cast. 

VERDICT:4/5

The most urgent, albeit uncomfortable, work of the week is Jeremy Herrin’s searing production of Jennifer Haley’s The Nether, a pertinent and profound warning abut the horrors we face as we sleepwalk into an ever more technologically framed future.

The Nether is the Internet a few years on, where a paedophile webmaster encourages his subscribers to rape and murder ‘virtual reality’ children in a realm ‘where there are no consequences’.   Humanity, in both senses, has been lost in the ether.

VERDICT: 4/5

Farinelli And The King at the Wanamaker Playhouse, London SE1. (Sold out, returns only; 020 7401 9919/shakespearesglobe.com)

Beautiful at Aldwych, London WC2 (Tickets 0845 200 7981/beautifulmusical.co.uk;£15-90)

The Nether at the Duke of York’s, London WC2 (Tickets 0844 871 3051/atgtickets.com; £10-75)