This new production takes us on a meander through the heart of Californian wine country as the titular characters deal with their respective midlife crises in very different ways. Based on the original novel, which was later adapted as a screenplay; ‘Sideways’, by Rex Pickett, has opened at the St James Theatre following a premiere at La Jolla Playhouse.’Miles’, played by Daniel Weyman, is a strugglIng writer. Unable to get his first novel published, he is reduced to stealing from his Mother to pay the rent. While his best friend ‘Jack’, played by Simon Harrison, is facing impending nuptials, not necessarily for love, but for a trust fund.
The men head off for a week of wine tasting before the wedding day arrives. On the trip they meet ‘Maya’, wonderfully portrayed by Ellie Piercy and ‘Terra’ in a feisty performance from Beth Cordingly. Both actresses bring the roles alive and the play picks up pace when they are on stage, the female characters bring out the best and worst in the male characters.
It’s not clear how these two men know each other or how they became friends, they are so different in every way, and Weyman and Harrison do an excellent job of bringing each of the characters strengths and weaknesses to front and centre. The play is undeniably funny, there are moments of pure comic genius particularly from Piercy and Cordingly.
The most engaging scene features Anne Kavanagh in the role of ‘Phyllis’. Kavanagh sparkles and is a delight to watch, yet this is the only short scene that the character appears, and the audience is definitely left wanting more.
The company also includes Daniel Barry and Kirsty Hazel Smith, each taking on a variety of roles. Unsurprisingly, a lot of wine is consumed during the performance, and part of me wondered how much of it was ‘prop wine’ lest the actors be too drunk to continue.
At some points the play slows to a near stop, there are scenes that seem to add nothing, then, in the final ten minutes everything happens at once. The pacing isn’t helped by the clunky, over complicated, and sometimes unnecessary scenery changes which seem to go on forever, the audience tittering every time the rotating backdrops were slowly manoeuvred in to place.
Undeniably funny, and even endearing, this is a play that sparkles with wit and charm. The cast do an incredible job of keeping the whole thing moving along despite the obvious flaws in staging. Connoisseurs will revel in the numerous wine references that had me dashing to order a glass of Pinot at the interval.
Those same connoisseurs will tell you that a good wine gets better with age, we hope the same is true for ‘Sideways’, this is a good play that needs to pick up the pace and focus on what is most important to the audience.
