Basket
Remaining time: 

    Review: Mr Foote's Other Leg

    The Hampstead Theatre production of Ian Kelly's play Mr Foote's Other Leg, about one of the 18th century's larger than life theatrical figures, gets a West End transfer and neatly ends up in the actual venue — the Theatre Royal Haymarket — where Foote and his band of actors once plied their trade.

    Samuel Foote (played here by Simon Russell Beale) was a contemporary of the probably better known actor manager David Garrick. At first the two men were friends and colleagues, but then became rivals when Garrick moved across London to run the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. And it was following a wager between the pair that was laid down by Prince George that Foote lost a leg — so to speak.
     
    Kelly, whose play is based on his own biography of Foote and who does a nice turn as Prince George in this production, beautifully captures the atmosphere of Georgian London in what is a delightfully funny and bawdy romp that’s a real love letter to the theatre. He and director Richard Eyre are rewarded by a terrific performance from the ever-excellent Simon Russell Beale, who switches effortlessly between comedy and pathos as Foote’s mental health deteriorates after the accident and his world begins to collapse as he becomes embroiled in scandal
     
    If Foote hadn't existed you couldn't have invented him — as he says himself: a man with one leg called Foote. He wrote one of the first true crime novels based on a murder in his own family, he spent time in a debtors’ prison and yet was known to royalty, he was once played Othello as a comedy and was constantly coming up with schemes to get around new censorship and licensing laws. As well as being an actor, impresario, cross-dresser and impressionist. How much larger than life do you want?
     
    Although Simon Russell Beale is the obvious centre of the piece and carries off all facets of Foote’s personality with aplomb, he's surrounded by a faultless ensemble cast which includes a deliciously saucy turn from Dervla Kirwan as foul-mouthed and celebrated actress Mrs Woffington, Jenny Galloway as Foote's straight talking but ever loyal stage manager, dresser and general dogsbody Mrs Garner and Micah Balfour as the former slave who ends up working for Foote.



    Related news

    The Great Gatsby London tickets

    10 Great Facts about The Great Gatsby

    Posted on | By Sian McBride |

    Proving that a good story never goes out of style, one hundred years after the great American novel was published, th... Read more

    Starlight Characters as Tube Lines

    Posted on | By Sian McBride |

    Just call us Francis Bourgeois, because we’re obsessed with trains. Though we prefer the singing ones to those ... Read more

    Hamilton the Musical in London

    Top 10 Musicals to Book this Black Friday

    Posted on | By Sian McBride |

    If Black Friday has you ready for some real excitement, why not swap the sales for show-stopping performances? London... Read more

    Follow us for instant updates and special offers

    Sign up to our mailing list and be the first to hear about new West End shows and exclusive ticket discounts. We value your privacy. You can unsubscribe at any time. But we hope you won’t!