Brighton Rock

Graham Greene’s classic novel of gangland Brighton has certainly been given a thrashing over the years, from the brilliance of the original movie to the sadly unsatisfying remake of a few years ago. So now we have a stage production weighing in with an oddly conceived part musical interpretation. I say odd because as a musical it was short on musical numbers, then again as a play it had one or two too many. All that aside this is an accomplished visual treat, full of tension and edge and with some fine performances as the cast tackled multiple roles and delivered genuine menace.

The staging was equally impressive, a clever set that evoked the sad carcass of the West Pier, first class lighting and some beautifully choreographed movement linking scene to scene. Gloria Onitri was superb as Ida, sassy, sexy and driven, and Sarah Middleton made a wonderfully naive Rose, a picture of desperate innocence. Pinkie was played by Jacob James Beswick and was truly scary, perhaps more transparently so than I have always imagined Pinkie to be. This was a full on scary and disturbed youth and I would have preferred it just a little toned down, gentler and less manic – but maybe that’s just me.

All in all though this is a darkly enjoyable rendering of a the book, perhaps a little over-ambitious and certainly just a little too long, but without doubt an evening of good theatre.

7 March

Theatre Royal Brighton

Andrew Kay

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