Review

Too Hot To Handel

It seemed entirely appropriate for The Unicorn Theatre in Abingdon to be one of the venues for Opera Anywhere to perform it’s latest production; ‘Too Hot To Handel’, written and directed by Robin Martin-Oliver. The Unicorn is celebrating it’s 50th year, a history that included many performances of Handel operas in the 50’s and 60’s. This Handel production however, will not resemble much of those performances years ago, in fact the Handel purists may take issue with Opera Anywhere over its especially written and devised story that includes music from no less than 7 different Handel operas and even an item or two from The Messiah!

This show may not work for the purists, but it certainly did for me and everyone else in the theatre around me, and I think this is where Opera Anywhere were aiming this production, the average person in the street who likes music but above all wants to be entertained. The audience found this production hilarious, exhilarating and the performers were stunning. The story line was influenced by the 70’s TV series, ‘Up Pompeii’ and Frankie Howerd wouldn’t have been out of place amongst the cast: a collection of exceptionally talented and committed singers and actors, who performed with such gay abandon and with such sheer joy, it seemed at times that they must be high on some substance!

A show not to be missed for the opera lover and the lover of just sheer entertainment!

Review from the Abingdon Herald 13 March 2003