REVIEW: Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Qu'ran

The new season at Southampton's Nuffield theatre is out of the starting blocks. Last week Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's whimsical play Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Qu'ran (translated from the French original by Patricia Benecke and Patrick Driver) made a welcome appearance after a successful run in Edinburgh and London.

Moses (James Daley) is a Jewish teenager struggling along with an unhappy father in 1960s Paris. When wrongly accused of stealing money by his father, he decides that he may as well live down to his reputation and starts pinching cash to fund his precocious trips to the local red light district. When he gets caught shoplifting by Sufi Muslim Monsieur Ibrahim (Sam Dastor), the wiley old grocer offers Moses the paternal affection and guidance he lacks. An unlikely friendship blossoms as the two embark on a series of minor adventures and discussions that shine a light upon both their lives, forging a strong bond despite the adolescent surliness of one protagonist and the old-fashioned reserve of the other.

Both actors deliver fine, engaging performances, full of warmth, humour and humanity. At one point, Moses muses that 'Jews, Muslims and Christians had many great men in common before we started hitting each other over the head.' Certainly, there are lessons within but the script never gets bogged down with preaching. To criticise the narrative for its oversimplification of the issues of age, race and religion is to miss the point: central to this play is what the characters share, not what divides them.

It would have been good to discover more about Monsieur Ibrahim, to have more flesh on the bones, as it were. Having said this, the performance comes in at a lean 70 minutes and proceeds at a brisk pace so this is a mere niggle rather than an accusation that the play lacks substance.

Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Qu'ran was made into an acclaimed film starring Omar Sharif in 2003. The staging at The Nuffield was confined to a single set with inspired use of lighting, but the dynamics of this slight, uplifting piece are really all about character and dialogue.

A tender, funny and timely production.

REVIEW: Concrete Jungle Boogie (08-07-06)

Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra rolled their wagons into Southampton Common, the great expanse of green in the heart of the concrete jungle, on Saturday night. And what a night it was. Damian Cook was in the middle of it.

Arriving at the Common, the set-up seemed terribly civilised. Picnics abounded and a genuine festival atmosphere pervaded the unseasonably chilly evening. My, my, it certainly wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll, but I liked it. There was a proper, reasonably priced bar with tables, friendly staff and all the trimmings. The organisers had even laid on flushing toilets with doors that locked. And rightly so, what with the ticket price approaching the £40 mark.

As I tucked into some splendid organic honey ale and attempted to eat my body weight in hummus (as I believe is the done thing at these events), Christopher Holland tried to warm up the crowd with his piano playing and vocal stylings - uncannily similar to brother Jools’ - with a few Squeeze and Ray Charles numbers. Perhaps he’s not blessed with the best set of pipes but his solo set served as a pleasant introduction and seemed to go down well.

Onto the main attraction. Jools and his band took to the stage to thunderous applause and as the first note was played the vast majority of the punters leapt to their feet and stayed there for the duration. Boogie woogie indeed, ladies and gentlemen. It may not have been the warmest night of the summer so far but nobody seemed to notice. Making my way to the front of an increasingly animated (and, by now, well-oiled) crowd, it was clear to see that the band genuinely love what they do. The Rhythm and Blues Orchestra isn’t about stars or unnecessary bells and whistles. What you get is great tunes, astounding musicianship and a real good-time feeling.

The sound quality on the night was exceptional and did justice to the stunning voices of guest singers Sam Brown and “British soul sensation Ruby Turner” (Jools’ words but I’m not going to argue with him).

It would be wrong to end this without commenting on Jools himself. We all know about his piano playing, but to hear it live through a top-drawer PA is truly impressive and his amiable on-stage persona ensured that the party atmosphere never faltered. Even during the inevitable drum solo.

An eye-popping firework display rounded off a great evening that even the most jaded of cynics would grudgingly admit to having enjoyed. I count myself among them.