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Red Hot & Cole, P&P Productions, Lighthouse, Poole

THIS show was apparently originally known as Swell Party, possibly a more apt title given that it tells Cole Porter’s story in the form of a continuous party spanning 45 year or so, from around the time of the First World War to the 1950s.

However, whatever its title, I confess that I found this revue, for that is what it really is, neither red hot nor swell. Although it features many Porter standards, including Anything Goes, The Physician, an entire Kiss Me Kate medley and Miss Otis Regrets, some of the early numbers are unfamiliar and the show doesn’t so much blaze into life as glow gently throughout.

Additionally, despite some elegant and stylish costumes the production lacks the sophistication of the period, and convincing accents are few and far between.

However, there is good chorus work and characterisations are generally strong. Among them, Andrew Rawstron, after a slightly hesitant start, grew into the role of Cole Porter, and Kelly-Anne Frost impresses as his wife, Linda. Clare Albanozzo’s Elsa Maxwell is a memorable, larger-than–life character, although I was bemused that she was the only person to noticeably age between acts, and Clare Gray gives a superb performance as another larger-than-life character, Ethel Merman.

Linda Kirkman

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