Review: Flowers for Mrs Harris

by Daniel Hill

Daniel Evans directed the world premiere of this musical only two years ago as part of his time in Sheffield. As part of his new role as Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre, he has decided to return to this show to direct it for both his and its second time. With Book by Rachel Wagstaff and Music and Lyrics by Richard Taylor the musical is an adaptation of Paul Gallico’s novel of the same name. Starring Clare Burt, Gary Wilmot and Joanna Riding, this truly beautiful show is brought to life in the amazing Chichester Festival Theatre.

The musical tells the story of Ada Harris, a working-class woman who only just about manages to get by and never feels the need to have anything more but the bare essentials that life sends her way. One day she comes across a dress designed by Dior which she finds captivating and she creates a goal to own a dress made by the same designer. We see Mrs Harris’ efforts only ever destroyed by another person or action. The audience are taken on her painful, comical and joyous journey as she makes her way to France to fulfill her dream, something which seems so out of reach and unattainable. As we see her left on her own at the end of the play as she has completely lost all hope the flowers begin to flood the stage in one of the most breathtaking stage images I have seen. The music sometimes resembles the likes of Sondheim or Lloyd Webber which takes away from the originality at certain points.

Daniel Evans seems to really enjoy directing musicals in his role as Artistic Director of CFT. This is his third during his short time here and it really shows why he chooses this form of theatre to prioritise and focus on. His direction makes this piece appear really heartfelt to the audience and it becomes utterly beautiful. The revolve is used very well and the small cast size enables for the multi rolling to seem really effective. The set design is fairly simplistic by provides a focus on the subtle acting that the cast provides as if they were performing a straight play. There is something really special created by Evans through his direction of this play.

Along with Evans, many of this cast are returning to the play for the second time. However, it is Claire Machin who is new to the show that stands out above everyone. It is hard to put a finger on why this is the case but her singing voice is great, her acting is brilliant and everything combines to make her perfect for the role and she manages to steal the show. Clare Burt was also strong in the title role alongside Mark Meadows as Albert. A lot of the supporting roles were also strong but sometimes is was challenging to hear the lyrics over the band and harmony created. This was only occasional and did not take away from the strong singing that the supporting roles provided.

Overall, this was a moving performance from the Chichester cast and put together very well by the creative team. Whether it is worthy of a West End transfer is definitely up for debate as it was enjoyable but maybe lacking in something to keep it lasting. However, it was a lovely evening.