Songs for English reserve in The Remains of the Day

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A cursory glance at The Remains of the Day, a novel of subtlety and nuance, would suggest it is an unlikely candidate to be turned into a musical, a genre that often over-emphasises the obvious. Kazuo Ishiguro’s masterful study of quintessential English reserve in the first half of the last century, turned into a magnificent Merchant Ivory film starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, doesn’t exactly beg to have songs inserted. Yet from such seemingly unpromising source material Alex Loveless has crafted a sophisticated piece of musical theatre.

A strong sense of magisterial Darlington Hall, home of a Nazi-sympathising lord and place of work for butler Mr Stevens (Stephen Rashbrook) and housekeeper Miss Kenton (Lucy Bradshaw) is skilfully evoked in the small playing space, and director Chris Loveless captures the milieu perfectly via maids whispering in corners. The central thrust of the narrative is the years-long non-romance between the central characters, due to the obsessively decorous Stevens putting "service" before any vestige of a personal life.

Rashbrook gives a marvellously restrained performance that hints at the unexplored depths of Stevens’s soul and he and Bradshaw, plus a top-notch ensemble, make easy work of the songs, many of which have a solemn and hymn-like feel. It’s not all gloom, though, with the frothy music hall number The End of the Pier to lighten the mood. A canny West End producer could do far worse than to tweak this fine show for a transfer.
Until September 25. Information: 020 7261 9876, uniontheatre.biz

The Remains Of The Day
Union Theatre
Union Street, Southwark, SE1 0LX