(pic credit: Sean Ebsworth Barnes)
Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Review by John Murray
That iconic title already conjures up the imagery of the era, the fashion and industry that surrounded it. Years away from the stage play, book and definitive movie a forgettable band called Deep Blue Something (honest) scored their only hit with an unrelated song where they ‘remembered the film and both kinds liked it’. So that embedded phrase should be enough for a revival – and it was. Initially in the West End then on a UK tour with Pixie Lott in the title role. For the Scottish dates however enter Emily Atack as Holly Golightly as recently seen in the remade Dad’s Army movie and best known for her role in all three series of The Inbetweeners. Her image on the poster stops traffic and can be seen all over Edinburgh city. Amazingly this is her stage debut and she commands the space. Starting in New York City 1944 she is able to reflect the costume of the era where the US had none of the European austerity of war. Emily’s many changes offer the glamour of a lady that befits the character. The Broadway adaptation by Richard Greenberg builds on more than Holly though and Matt Barber as Fred is present throughout linking and narrating the story, setting the scene and still caring for Holly.
The Moon River title song is kept authentically acoustic and there is one other solo from Emily Atack with People Will Say We’re In Love which I first heard in Oklahoma (the musical not the place). All other music is incidental as scenes change and the play is ever moving with a large cast of a dozen. It never lets you lose concentration though as it moves swiftly along. So from bedroom to bar we follow Fred’s writing career and witness his neighbourhood associations with the glamorous and unforgettable Holly.
Kings Theatre Edinburgh till June 4th
