Glorious! | Theatr Clwyd

Peter Quilter's Glorious! arrives at Theatr Clwyd as part of its 20th anniversary tour, telling the true (or almost true) story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the infamous tone-deaf New York socialite who believed herself to be an operatic star. In order to prepare for her concerts and recordings, she recruits accompanist Cosme McMoon in attempt to defy the critics and follow her dreams.

Quilter's script embraces charm, chaos and eccentricity as we witness Florence embrace her passion for music and performance, completely unaware that those around her are mocking her. Ultimately, Quilter's story inspires self-expression and refusing to let criticism silence you, and the unlikely friendship between Florence and Cosme is a joy to witness.

The comedy of the play, as well as the portrayal of Florence's determination and passion, lands well; yet the script struggles to move beyond the fact that Florence is a terrible singer. And whilst there is a slight glimpse into Florence's motives and reasonings, it feels like there is a missed opportunity for these themes to be explored further. There's also snippets into Cosme's life, and yet this is never fully fleshed out, giving no moments to dive into these characters backstories to enable more emotional depth.

Wendi Peters is wonderfully committed to the role, not only nailing the comedic timing and outrageous singing, but also in her physicality which makes the comedy land further. Peters captures a great balance between her delusional grandeur and emotional sincerity as we see the moments where her confidence slips. The natural rapport between Peters and Matthew James Morrison as Cosme is infectious and warm, enabling a genuine friendship to unfold. Morrison's dry and sarcastic tone is a wonderful counterbalance to Florence's grand delusions. His moments of cringing and attempting to let Florence down easily are some of the show's highlights, and Morrison does a great job in delivering these moments.

Visually, the design is stunning with elegant set pieces, bouquets of flowers and lavish home interior, however, the set design feels more suited to smaller stages and oftentimes feels quite bare on the larger stage at Theatr Clwyd. The play unfolds across a few extended scenes where the set stays stagnant for quite a long time; and pairing this with the back-and-to dialogue between Peters and Morrisons, there are some moments where the show slips into a monotonous tone. Set changes are then completed behind a closed red curtain, however, this is done so noisily and is distracting when Morrison is narrating to the audience.

While the script occasionally leans heavily on repeated musical gags, the energy of the performances and the simplistic story lends a hand to an enjoyable and light-hearted night of entertainment. Ultimately, Glorious! understands that Florence Foster Jenkins is more than a punchline; yet it feels like more can be done to land this overall message. Regardless, Glorious! is a funny, heartfelt and thoroughly entertaining production.

Glorious plays at the Theatr Clwyd until Saturday 30th May - tickets and more information can be found here.

★★★☆☆ (3*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Chris Davies