Review: REDLANDS, Chichester Festival Theatre
Photo credit: Ikin Yum
For a generation or two, the Rolling Stones have provided a musical backdrop to their lives, from the first album in 1964 to their latest, ‘Hackney Diamonds’ in 2023. When we saw them at Hyde Park in 2022, we were blown away by the eighty-year-old Mick Jagger’s energy and Keith Richard’s musicality. Redlands takes us back to the beginning of the amazing musical journey, February 1967, just after the release of ‘Between the Button’, which included the hit ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’. The show is given an extra boost being staged at Chichester, just a few miles from the infamous party at Richards’ Redlands home in West Wittering, and for this matinee audience, every mention of the two towns sent a ripple of titters around the audience.
The police raid on Redlands, which led to the famous case the narrative describes, was perhaps orchestrated by the News of the World as an attack on the youthful rebellion and occasional cannabis use of the young stars, with references to this newspaper generating wry smiles. However, rather than focus on the band members, the story is written from the perspective of Michael Havers QC, the pompous barrister who defended them and his own rebellious son Nigel, who wanted to become an actor rather than a lawyer. This much we know is a true story but having not read autobiographies of either the band or Havers, it is hard to know how much of the rest is theatrical license.
The result is something of a curate’s egg with a mix of elements that don’t quite come together to a perfect whole, although the recipe promises something more substantial and interesting. The relationships between Nigel (a good professional debut for Louis Landau), Michael (a wonderful characterisation by Anthony Calf) and Michael’s father Cecil, known as Bongo (a brilliant comic performance by Clive Francis), is a delightful examination of father and son relationships and their interactions provide the best scenes. The clash of 60s cultures between the ruling classes, represented by the police and courts, and the youthful dynamism of the Stones, provides another theme but the authority figures are portrayed as ludicrous dim-witted fools out of touch with popular opinion, with the feel of a Not the Nine O’Clock News or a Monty Python sketch with Michael Havers trying to bridge the gap.
The third element is the music which is credited to Benjamin Kwasi Burrell and while it has the feel of the Sixties tunes, most are unrecognisable until we are finally given the wonderful ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction’ and ‘Jumping Jack Flash’. A story about the Stones without many of their legendary hits is a missed opportunity and creates a muted unrecognisable soundtrack to the story. Oddly, none of the songs performed are credited in the programme. We do get ‘As Tears Go By’, written by Jagger and Richards and originally sung by Mariane Faithful in 1964, so perhaps the music features less well-known Stones tunes, but we are not told.
Writer Charlotte Jones has adopted a theatrical style which constantly breaks the fourth wall, with characters engaging the audience directly or sitting with them. Michael Havers’ first entrance at his son’s school play is brilliantly executed, setting the tone, but Nigel watching the performance of Marianne Faithful (Emer McDaid) feels a little contrived and awkward. Mick Jagger’s prancing around the auditorium and serenading members of the audience may capture the star’s energetic performance but just reminds us that despite Jasper Talbot’s best efforts on his professional debut, he does not have the star’s charismatic presence. The use of a Go-Go dance platform in the centre of the auditorium too is an unnecessary distraction given the vast Chichester thrust stage to work with.
At one-point, Michael Havers says “this is a trial, not a pantomime” and too often the script takes us closer to pantomime and parody rather than our anticipated trip into social and musical history, and exploring the essence and charisma that has sustained the Rolling Stones for over sixty years. The emphasis feels wrong, the execution falls short and yet the chosen central story of Michael and his son Nigel has charm and emotional truth, and lifts the play in Act Two and the concluding party after the trial is raucous, fun and has us on our feet clapping along, providing plenty of “Satisfaction”. Ultimately, we were entertained and enjoyed the trip back in time and that is perhaps enough for the loyal Chichester audiences.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Nick Wayne
Redlands plays at Chichester Festival Theatre until 18 October, with tickets available here.