Lord Arthur sweeps the audience off its feet (From Swindon Advertiser)

Lord Arthur sweeps the audience off its feet

12:00pm Friday 29th January 2010 in

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IT may not be one of his best known works, but Oscar Wilde’s Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime is every bit as witty as his other masterpieces.

And the cast that performed the show brought all the melodramatic and comedy needed to make the show sparkle to the table.

The play tells the story of Lord Arthur (Lee Mead) who has his palm read by chiromantist Septimus Podger (Gary Wilmot).

Podger reveals that Lord Arthur is set to commit a murder at some point in his life. Fearing he might kill his beloved fiancee Sybil (Louise Clein) he decides to get the terrible deed out of the way before their marriage.

Lee Mead, best known to the country as the winner of the BBC’s search for a Joseph, played the role brilliantly. Having seen him performing in the West End musical, you can see how much he has come on in just a few short years and that he is not just a one-trick pony.

However, fans of Mr Mead’s singing will be pleased to hear that he does stretch his vocal chords at the end of the show.

Gary Wilmot as Podger was a genius piece of casting and he had the audience chuckling throughout. In fact, that is a phrase that you can apply to all of the principal roles.

Both of the leading men bounced well off each other, along with other members of the cast, and there was a real atmosphere on enjoyment throughout the theatre, both on stage and off it.

There were some lovely touches throughout the performance that made you feel as though you had been transported back to the Victorian days of theatre, from the violinist and pianoforte maestro, to the lighting of the gas lights along the front of the stage to the programme which contained wonderful phrases such as “the following metropolitan artistes have definitely promised to appear (vehicular transportation and better-paid engagements permitting)”.

Quite which applied to former Dynasty star Kate O’Mara I don’t know, but her role on Tuesday night was taken over by Belinda Carroll, who happens to be her sister.

While she was perfect as Lady Clementina, the first of Lord Arthur’s prospective victims, as Lady Windermere she didn’t dazzle as much as the rest of the cast, which was a shame.

Overall this is a lovely little play and a thoroughly enjoyable evening.