by Zahid Fayyaz

This is a brand new venue in the West End that recently opened in Covent Garden, currently hosting a revue of Stephen Sondheim songs as its opening production. The performance space is upstairs at the Prince of Wales pub. It is a cozy venue with a supper club vibe to it, and the audience is up close and personal to the stage and its performers.

As a one act, 60-minute show with songs and no book, the quality of Sondheim’s songs shines through in this performance. Comprising of Sondheim numbers cut from multiple musicals sung by a man and a woman, this is very good as a musical theatre show, especially for fans of Sondheim’s particular style of music. The concept is that the two leads never actually meet, and sing their respective songs without knowing of each other’s existence. Its certainly a fascinating and creative way to stage the duets in particular. Overall, the songs are of the high quality you would expect from Sondheim, with particular favourites being ‘Bring on the Girls’ from Follies, and ‘Silly People’ from A Little Night Music. Shelley Rivers and Markus Sodergren are the two wonderful singers who consistently nail the difficulties within each of the songs.

As a first production at this theatre, this is a wise show to start off with because of its wide appeal. There is a great energy to the performances, and its well worth going to watch, especially for those who love Sondheim’s musicals.

Marry Me a Little runs through 13 April.

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