Review: Poppy and George at Watford Palace Theatre **
Fiona Green is a features writer
By Fiona Leckerman
Playwright Diane Samuels’ latest offering commissioned by Watford Palace Theatre is Poppy and George, an unconventional love story set among the cloths of an East End costumier’s in 1919.
Poppy, a Northerner, has come down south in search of a job and finds more than a career she also finds herself.
Smith, the Jewish immigrant tailor, welcomes her into his business, where she trains alongside him and meets the chauffeur George and Tommy Johns a music hall artiste, who provides some light reverie.
The play is set within the costumier’s with hanging costumes overhead, a rail of clothes and a sewing machine; quite why there is constant cloud of smoke emanating from the wings is never explained. The use of smoke was also used with great meaning in the last staging of Samuels’s award winning play Kindertransport at the Richmond Theatre, but the reason for the effect is never referenced in Poppy and George and its inclusion seems purely stylistic.
Samuels does discuss important themes of equality and gender amid a changing world within a love story and the writing is strong, with threads of humour running throughout, but it lacks emotional connection to the characters – this despite the cast being very competent with some lovely moments, including addressing the audience directly, which is a nice touch.
Nadia Clifford’s Poppy is a resilient, but confused character and Rebecca Oldfield’s George becomes more convincing as the play progresses, however together there is an absence of chemistry, making their troubled romance less believable.
The pace and slow build leading to the big reveal was disappointingly unimaginative and neither shocking, nor poetic. The inclusion of Thomas John, played with accurate poise by Mark Rice-Oxley, was a welcome diversion, but other than his professional cross-dressing, his role in the play is unclear.
Would a performer practice in a costumier and would a costumier have a piano? The Thomas John sub-plot and character are compelling enough to fill a play on its own with his light-hearted, smutty songs leaving the audience wanting more.
Poppy and George has the potential to be a thoughtful play, but sadly this production falls short, perhaps it is too long, or perhaps its themes don’t marry with the way the story is told.
Poppy and George is playing at The Watford Palace Theatre until 27 Feburary.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
