We went en masse to Wilton's Music Hall last night to see Wink The Other Eye, a sort-of-play about the music hall itself, but in reality a thinly-veiled showcase for all the rip-roaring smutty songs of that era.
I have always loved music hall numbers - I was a huge fan of The Good Old Days (shamefully never repeated by the BBC!) and our collection includes albums of classics in that genre by Nellie Wallace, Roy Hudd, Sheila Steafel and Beryl Reid. And this production did not disappoint.
We exercised our lungs singing along to numbers like My Old Man Said Follow The Van, Oh Mr Porter and A Little Of What You Fancy Does You Good - every one of them laced with healthy dollops of innuendo and hutzpah. And with two intervals, and drinking healthily encouraged, the sing-a-longs just got louder and more raucous! Well our lot did, but some of the elderly audience just seemed to sit there a bit dazed (or maybe they just dropped off - the show is 2½ hours long after all...)
The players were all very good - not your top West End stars admittedly, but enthusiastic and genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves. Star of the show had to be the enormously busty 'Ria (Miss Suzie Chard), who threw herself (almost literally) into some of the bawdier numbers, even turning the innocent Come Into The Garden Maud into a filthy seduction song. She gave a near-perfect impression of Miss Marie Lloyd; and other "characters" in the play included Mr Wilton himself, Burlington Bertie and the infamous Champagne Charlie.
Highly recommended, and the crumbly atmosphere of Wiltons alone makes a visit worthwhile. All together now..!
Wiltons website
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