The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾

by Sue Townsend

Directed by Alison Maguire

Review by Dominic Maxwell
of Time Out






 

The Tower Theatre performing Upstairs at the Gatehouse

Sue Townsend's luckless Midlands teenager was last seen running a Soho restaurant in the TV series Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years. But North London's Tower Theatre has returned to the early 1980s for this revival of Townsend's musical spin-off, first seen in the West End 20 years ago. References to Steve Davis snooker tables and Malcolm Muggeridge may make the setting seem as camply distant as Pooter's 1890s, but Adrian's story retains its note of real pain alongside all the jokes. Mum runs off with the Lothario next door; Dad is too poor to pay the bills; speccy Adrian is menaced by the local bully for his 16p-a-day pocket money (just enough to buy a Mars bar).


Alison Maguire's production does a decent job of reviving Adrian, even if the audience's goodwill is needed for when the pace flags. There are some great performances. Joe Radcliffe is impressive as the spotty hero, giving him just the right mix of precociousness and gormlessness. Henry Chester is terrific as ailing old Trot Bert Baxter, and Celia Reynolds steals the show as the formidable Grandma Mole.

It doesn't really do the job as a musical. Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley's songs are played well by the three-man band, but most of the time you'd rather they weren't there. It doesn't help that the cast, with the exception of Diane Carr as Adrian's mum, aren't really singers. But it's a gently enjoyable family show all the same.