REVIEW: A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, Union Theatre, Southwark, November 12, 2009

One of the potentially sublime qualities of fringe theatre productions is that they can reinforce the fact that it is not necessary to have the stage filled with epic-scale scenery or helicopters in order to present a great piece of musical theatre - provided that the piece in itself is dramatically and musically strong, the performances compelling and the direction cleverly inventive. All three of these elements are present in the current production of the musical A Man Of No Importance at Southwark's excellent fringe space, the Union Theatre.

Based on a 1994 movie starring Albert Finney, A Man Of No Importance tells the simple yet poignant story of self-discovery of Dublin bus-conductor, amateur theatre director and Oscar Wilde aficionado Alfie Byrne. In the back-drop of 1960s working-class and Catholic prejudice, the tale of a man who attempts to stage Wilde's morally questionable play Salome in a community hall while struggling with his own feelings of the "love that dare not speak its name", is beautifully written by librettist Terrence McNally (Master Class, Love Valour Compassion, Ragtime, Kiss Of The Spider Woman) and the composer/lyricist team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Once On This Island, Dessa Rose, Seussical). The writing is so deftly understated that it speaks volumes, avoiding cliché and achieving a genuinely moving depth of emotion.

The same quality of restrained and perfectly observed emotion is evident in Ben De Winter's direction and the performances of the entire cast - and notably Patrick Kelliher as bus driver Robbie, Roisin Sullivan as Adele (the girl Alfie chooses as his Salome) and the brilliant Paul Clarkson as Alfie.

As a musical, the show does not have the sweeping score of Flaherty and Ahrens' masterwork,Ragtime, but it is full of beautiful vignettes such as Princess, Man In The Mirror and Love Who You Love as well as the terrific Streets Of Dublin. It is a wonderful example of a musical that works simply because of its ability to reach out to its audience with the ring of truth. And in this superb production at the Union Theatre it rings out in simplistic triumph.