REVIEW - Glorious! is the talk of the town - it has humour, heart and hope - simply Glorious!

On Wednesday, we were invited to Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester to see Glorious! Read what our reviewer Karen Ryder had to say about this fantastic show...

There’s been quite the buzz about town over the arrival of Glorious!  An intriguing notion when it tells the true story of the worst singer in the world, Florence Foster Jenkins, but one which is thoroughly deserved and beautifully mirrors the adoration bestowed on the lady herself.  Peter Quilter’s play presents Florence with kindness, with respect, and with joy, and tonights audiences felt that in abundance, hooked from the moment we met this bustling, brave, bursting with life embodiment of what it means to truly live out loud – very loud!  Florence’s soon to be pianist Cosme McMoon welcomes us into her world, recalling the unexpected way in which Florence’s friend Dorothy invited him to meet with her for the very first time.  As Cosme stands before a luscious red velvet curtain speaking directly to us, we understand this is to be Florence’s story told through his eyes, and it is here we pick up the story, enjoying the full Florence experience just as Cosme did.  As the curtain opens to reveal the first scene, we are whisked into the wealthy apartment of Florence, complete with her eccentric collection of chairs that people passed away in, some side tables, and of course her piano.  The opening dance between uncertainty from Cosme and complete belief from Florence is a wonderful thing to behold, neither trying to capture the other by force, but by invitation, and it is this mutual respect for each other’s quirks that forms an unbreakable and fiercely loyal bond.

As Florence enters the room in a whirlwind, we are all blown away by the energy and joy she exudes.  Completely bonkers, but brilliantly so, this lady was clearly a force of nature and it becomes clear very quickly why she was so adored.  Kind of heart, generous and carefree, she lived her life for her, moment by glorious moment.  Even when her Italian speaking housekeeper pushes back over every request, and communication is difficult, Florence simply takes it in her stride, flippantly remarking that she’s tried to sack her, but she didn’t understand what was being said, so just keeps coming back!  As Florence gets to know Cosme a little better, we all sit waiting with anticipation, waiting for the moment when we will hear her sing.  It is a pinnacle moment and it does not disappoint.  In fact, it offers so much more than we could have hoped for.  Because not only is it delightfully designed to make you belly laugh, the absolute joy of it for me was actually the brilliance of both Cosme and Florence’s faces, opposing reactions to the same perceived singing. 

Wendi Peters (Coronation Street, Sister Act, Doctors) made us fall in love with Florence in this moment, not for her voice, but for her utter joy and infectious enthusiasm for the thing she loved doing herself.  She somehow had the charm to make us love it too.  She would sing, then pause, her face full of a wonderous childlike innocence, brimming with accolade, bursting with a majestic fulfilment of her own achievement, waiting for the approval she believed was coming her way.  And this is when we too fell in love with Charlie Hiscock (Ted Lasso, Black Mirror, Red Rose) as Cosme because his face spoke a thousand words with his perfectly timed expressions, and we saw kindness and respect at its very best.  This opening scene between Florence, Cosme, and the housekeeper Maria (who brought us exceptional comedy courtesy of Anita Booth – Fatal Attraction, To Kill A Mocking Bird, Doctors) was fast paced, character driven, and truly set the scene for what was to be a wonderful night of theatre. 

As we entered the recording studio with Florence, Cosme, and Dorothy, the set quickly changed and, still recovering from laughing at Florences love of costumes and props in the previous scene, we barely catch our breath before we are once again howling with laughter as Florence attempts to sing opera, blissfully unaware of what she truly sounds like.  Once again, she storms the scene with a kinetic energy, having just been involved in a car accident outside.  She declares as she hit her head, she let out a scream which must be the highest note she has ever hit, so instead of suing the taxi driver, she instead decides to send him some Cuban cigars for extending her vocal range!  But the only way she now believes she can reach that note is to hit her head every time, so as she is building up to the note in her aria, wham!  A crack on her head brings the desired ending.  The skill of comedy at play here is so hard to describe because it is so multi layered, detailed, and nuanced, but the result is an audience full of people howling with untamed laughter.  It is a perfectly timed wrong note, a sudden surge of volume, a rousing raucous of umph pitched against a delicate patter of scales, or just a knowing smile from this wonderfully exuberant lady, who just loves to sing.  She permeates joy, and that is why she was so adored.      

Following another successful show, where audience members are interviewed by Florence herself to secure a ticket, she receives two entirely opposing encounters.  The first is from Mrs. Verrinder – Gedge, a lady who represents those wishing to control the arts, making it elitest and reserving it solely for those with technical skill and a musical education.  The second is a telegraph inviting her to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall, dousing out the flames of elitism brought by Mrs. Verrinder – Gedge only moments earlier.  With Cole Porter as one of Florences biggest fans, and flowers of appreciation sent from Irving Berlin, it is solidified that Florence’s charm lies not within her singing ability, or lack thereof, but in how she exudes light, love and happiness when she does.  That was her true gift, her authenticity, her glee, her ability to live in the moment and simply do what made her happy.  Florence may not have realised she could not sing, we’ll never know, and perhaps there is an argument to be made that those closest to her should have been honest and told her, but that would have been like kicking a puppy.  Who are any of us to strip that joy out of someone else’s life?  If we don’t like it, we don’t have to listen, and as Florence herself said, “There are those who say I cannot sing, but no one can say I DIDN’T sing!”

And so it is we end up at Carnegie Hall, bemused and delighted as Florence makes her appearance dressed as an angel, with a gloriously over the top costume, complete with ginormous wings and a halo!  There are some really touching moments in this scene as we watch the tender and personal interactions between Cosme and Florence.  His acceptance and admiration of her spirit and tenacity far outshine the need for her musical competence.  He has grown to love her the way her fans do.  She is unique, she is brave, and she embraces living in the moment, not allowing others opinions to dampen her spirit, living entirely by her own standards.  There is something so refreshingly honest and freeing about Florences approach to life that made people fall in love with her.  Yes, she was funny to watch, and that may not have been her intention, but the result was the same.  People adored her because she was a fabulous invitation for the whole world to experience the arts, proving they are for everyone to enjoy, not just a selected few.

This cast of three are perfect.  Wendi Peters brings us this complex, beffudling character and makes us fall in love with her.  She is charming, delightful, playful, and completely and utterly bonkers!  This is such a skilled performance and one hell of a task to take on, for as an audience we are meant to want to laugh at Florence’s bad singing, so Wendi Peters has to make us laugh.  However, Florence wasn’t trying to make us laugh, so Wendi Peters has to make us laugh without purposefully trying to make us laugh which is a really tricky concept to wrap your head around.  She has to sing badly, without making it sound like she’s purposefully trying to sing badly, because that would have undone the entire show.  We know she was bad.  She didn’t.  And so it has to be pitched right or else we would just feel irritated, when we were supposed to be charmed.  But charmed we were, because Wendi Peters was flawlessly perfect with Florence’s imperfections.  She has impeccable comedic timing, knowing exactly how long to pause, when a look will work better than words, and when to explode into song!  I truly believe that Wendi Peters created magic tonight and lit a spark in every audience member to just be brave enough to be a little truer to their own inner joy, without giving diddly squat what anyone else may think.  What a liberating gift to pass on! 

Charlie Hiscock was wonderfully charming as Florence’s pianist, Cosme McMoon.  Again, a perfectly timed look or a specific facial expression were so skilfully placed that they often said way more than words ever could.  This was a character we saw a wonderful change in, as his initial reserve and polite resignment of Florence’s unique talent blossomed into genuine love and admiration.  This had to be executed well for the audience to be guided in the same direction, and Charlie Hiscock engaged us with this momentum every step of the way.  He was open, charming, shocked by Florence but most importantly, he never judged her, and the intricate and subtle choices made through mannerisms and vocal delivery were the key to securing the direction we all fell towards.  It was, again, perfect.  There was a gentle nod to Cosme’s private life, and Florence’s insistence that he find himself a ‘good woman’, her naivety once again on display to Cosme’s true sexuality, without him feeling the need to correct or embarrass her.    

Anita Booth expertly multi rolled as Maria the housekeeper, Florence’s friend Dorothy, and Mrs. Verrinder – Gedge.  Each character was rich in personality, making them easily distinguishable and brilliant.  As Maria, a gesture, a look, a grunt alone had the whole audience in hysterics, through brilliantly executed gruff Italian, bringing us a fierce and fiery no nonsense woman.  As she stood there plucking a chicken whilst firing death darts to Florence and oozing sarcasm, she quickly became a firm favourite.  As Dorothy, we saw Maria’s opposite, someone who loved to support others in order to feel loved herself.  A tireless supporter of Florence, she saw beyond the flaws of her bad singing, instead focusing on the end result – love and admiration.  She concentrates instead on Florences positive traits, her generosity, her spirit, her friendship, and she channels it through her own being.  This is so beautifully done through light movement, floating like she hasn’t a care in the world, a far cry away from Maria’s stomping and banging.  Anita Booth is so wonderful as Dorothy for she allows Cosme to embrace Florence, and that allows the world to, for he offers credibility.  As Mrs. Verrinder – Gedge a whole new persona is brought to us once again.  This elitist snob is delivered with harsh tones, tight movement and pinched expressions, only serving to highlight even further the distinctions between living in a world of rules or making the rules for yourself.

Peter Quilter has written a play that, yes is based on the true life events of a lady called Florence Foster Jenkins, but bigger than that, he has encapsulated a rare and touching tale regarding the strength of spirit.  Directed by Kirk Jameson, this Hope Mill Theatre and Thomas Hopkins Production has humour, heart, and most importantly, hope.  Hope that if you persevere and follow your own dreams, you might just achieve them.  The language at play in this production is so fabulous, every sentence deliberately having multiple meanings and undertones, enriching the comedy, embracing the talents of the wonderful actors, and fulfilling the force of nature that was Florence Foster Jenkins. 


Glorious! should perhaps serve as the workings of a love letter we should all write to ourselves, to give ourselves permission to just be who we are and to stop living in fear of what others might think of us.  People may laugh at us along the way, that is their prerogative, but if we chose our own joy over their laughter, just imagine how liberating that could be!  It would be Glorious!

WE SCORE GLORIOUS...




WATCH OUR "IN CONVERSATION WITH WENDI PETERS" VIDEO


Glorious! is on at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester until Sunday 30th March 2025.

We have an EXCLUSIVE OFFER for you too! 20% OFF shows up to Sun 9th March


BUY TICKETS TO SEE GLORIOUS!