Review: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - In Concert (London Palladium)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The London Palladium played host to another special one-night-only (plus a matinee) musical last weekend, with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels making a long-awaited return to the West End for an all-star concert. This year has been full of more of these concerts than ever before with a mix of classics, rarely seen favourites and even brand new shows taking to the stage for one or two performances to, shall we say, mixed results? There was a lot to be excited about with this one in particular though, especially with its two leading stars. Would this prove to be one of the better ones this year or would it end up being, well, rotten?

Originally a movie from 1988, the musical adaptation of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels premiered in San Diego 20 years ago, moving to Broadway in 2005 and enjoying a year in the West End from 2014 – 2015. Apart from a UK tour shortly after, the show hasn’t been seen on these shores since… until now, that is. Set in the French Riviera, the show sees two competing conmen attempt to woo an heiress out of $50,000 and get one-up on each other in the process with as much absurdity and hilarity as you would expect.

I wasn’t lucky enough to catch Dirty Rotten Scoundrels when it ran in the West End, nor had I ever seen the original movie, so the story was all new and constantly surprising to me. Word of mouth from those who had seen it before and its sensational cast were enough for me to go along. What I didn’t expect, however, is just how riotously funny it would be. Written by Jeffrey Lane, the hit-rate of humour comes thick and fast, regularly making me howl with laughter. The humour veers from silly to surreal but is always successful in its execution. Almost descending on to farce territory, the  intelligence in the writing shines through to create a fun and always riveting story. The original book had cleverly been updated to make it more contemporary, featuring up to date references including a certain upcoming President and, quite randomly, Denise Welch, with a reference to a certain celebrity that hasn’t aged as well being removed.

The word “concert” in these events can always be taken with a pinch of salt with some feeling closer to fully staged. While there was no set here aside from the occasional prop, Rupert Hands’ directed it as if it was, creating a big, bold and brilliant world out of nothing but an extremely talented cast of actors. His choices allowed Jeffrey Lane’s book and David Yazbek’s music and lyrics to be used to their full force, with a great instinct for how to get the biggest laugh. One surprising yet brilliant moment saw Ramin Karimloo channel his time in The Phantom of The Opera while looking for Christine (he certainly has a type).

Previous concerts such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels have found themselves plagued with issues, be it missed sound cues and lighting problems. It was refreshing to see this production bypass all of these obstacles – though it wasn’t 100% perfect at all times, it continually impressed and showed how these concerts can be pulled off when they are at their best. Credit for that must go to Dan Creasey’s lighting design and Toby Chevis’ sound design, keeping up with the challenges these concerts can face and avoiding anything being lost in the process.

David Yazbek’s music and lyrics was beautifully realised by Adam Hoskins in his expert music direction, faultlessly leading a stage bursting with talented musicians and the Mountview Choir, making these songs sound their very best. From the stomping ‘Great Big Stuff’, the timeless sounding ‘What Was A Woman To Do’ and the bonkers ‘Love Is My Legs’,  the absurdity of the lyrics always felt far more serious thanks to the glorious sound emanating from the stage.

A key selling point of this production was the promise of Hadley Fraser and Ramin Karimloo together. No strangers to performing together, having become a bit of a double act in themselves with their ‘From The Rehearsal Room’ shows. Their chemistry and camaraderie creates pure magic on stage and brought something extra to the friendship, rivalry and chaos between these two characters – displayed at its best when Hadley had to ad-lib “Ramin will be on any second I’m sure”. Several moments saw the pair trying to stifle their laughter and often failing, making their performances all the more enjoyable as you laughed with them every step of the way.

Hadley Fraser was perfectly suave and charismatic as Lawrence Jameson, never afraid to poke fun at himself and delivering a perfect comedic performance, always in fine knowledge of how to get the biggest laugh. It felt like a role Hadley was born to play, allowing him to use all of his talents to deliver a well-rounded captivating portrayal. Ramin Karimloo played his sparring partner, Freddy Benson, in an overblown and exaggerated performance that was always riveting to witness. Ramin was clearly having the time of his love in this role and it made his characterisation that much funnier. With a natural knack for comic timing, the ability to steal focus even when not saying anything and, of course, THOSE phenomenal vocals, he once again proved why he is one of the best in the business.

Carly Mercedes Dyer made a welcome return to the West End as Christine Colgate, oozing charisma and stage presence at every moment she was visible. Going up against two heavyweight performers, she more than held her own, demonstrating her God-given talents once again. Janie Dee’s performance as Muriel Eubanks can only be described as high camp and I was living for it. In a tongue in cheek performance, she flirted with the audience as much as the men on stage in a standout turn. Though underused, Alex Young was incredibly memorable in her brief time as Jolene with her big number ‘Oklahoma?’ (no, not that one) a joy to watch. The cast was completed by Cameron Blakely who set up the majority of the comedy, himself delivering a solid performance as Andre Thibault.

I didn’t know what to expect going into Dirty Rotten Scoundrels but I’d wager it wasn’t this. One of the most fun nights I have had in a theatre this year, my face ached from laughter. Though this was, to an extent, the Hadley and Ramin show, it boasted more than two incredible performances, with the cast of six all thrilling consistently. Stunningly directed, beautifully created and expertly performed, this was one of the best musical concerts I’ve seen in a long while, and the perfect example of how spectacular they can be when they are done right. My only criticism is that it was just TOO  good and has left me longing for a full production to hit the West End… preferably with this same dream cast. Anything but rotten, everybody involved really scored big with this concert!

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels played at the London Palladium on Sunday 24th November.

For news on future shows from the team behind it, visit www.lambertjackson.co.uk 

Photos by Danny Kaan