Scramble the last RAF jets, re-commission Concorde, or do whatever else it takes you to get down at supersonic speed to the box office of West London’s Finborough Theatre.Today, the tiny theatre announced that two more matinees have been added to the blink-and-you’ll-miss it run of Emlyn William’s forgotten 1950s gem, Accolade. The production started its run last week and is already almost booked out thanks to the presence in the cast of that recent victim of violent death, Graham Seed, better known as nice-but-dim Nigel Pargitter from The Archers.
But, with apologies to my fellow Archers fans, it’s taken something more than a genteel radio soap star to send ticket sales soaring into the stratosphere. The root cause of the production’s word-of-mouth success is the praise coming in for Blanche McIntyre’s fluid yet forensic direction, which gently exposes the devastating human and artistic vulnerabilities that lie beneath the sparkle of William’s witty dialogue.
Internationally celebrated, counter-cultural author Will Trenting (Aden Gillett) agonizes over whether to accept a knighthood, though it will thrill his posh wife (Saskia Wickham).
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