Liverpool Sound and Vision Ration 9/10

Cast: Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter, Louise Jameson, Conrad Asquith, Lisa Bowerman, Abigail Hollick, Hywel Morgan, Andrew Westfield, Philip Bretherton.

The power of a performance, the emotional resonance that bleeds across the stage from the actor to the audience and out in the open world as word of mouth and newspaper columns declare the genius of the words spoken, not only get stuck in the minds of those that see it, they also bleed through the walls of the theatre as if being used as a storage device; feeding and growing until it can take no more. Such is the theory that a building can hold the echoes of the past; it is the premise that sees Jago and Litefoot’s latest adventure in series three take on the voices and images of a story that could be their Swan Song.

After the semi composed feel of The Man At The End Of The Garden, the action and expectancy of the thrill of the chase, the dread of people out of time, in more than one sense, is enough to send a shiver up the spine in measured bursts. Swan Song by John Dorney brings the future and past colliding towards each other and the standing point of defence is The New Regency Theatre. The theatre is holy ground to Henry Gordon Jago, it is more than that. To the confirmed bachelor that cuts an impressive figure as the exulted impresario it is his true love and it is his true love that holds all the voices, all the speeches and dramatic lines, of heroes and villains, of pantomime dames and principal boys within its walls and she isn’t letting go easily.

The story is a ride through time as both the amateur detectives and Leela battle against the destructive force of Elliot Payne’s master plan starts to see the light of day and for one now wheelchair bound scientist who dreamed of performing Swan Lake  the crushing memories become too much to hold onto. There are genuine moments of utter desolation of the heart that can catch the unprepared listener catch their breath as they live through the end of a cast member’s life and the tale of another; it is the sadness that filters through that makes this particular episode a remarkable piece of work.

Christopher Benjamin as the aforementioned Henry Gordon Jago gives perhaps the best performance during the three series of Jago & Litefoot so far and is joined by consummate enactments by Philip Bretherton as Elliot Payne and the delightful Abigail Hollick as Alice. The pain in Abigail Hollick’s voice as she projected the thoughts of the wheelchair bound Alice was some of the most gripping pieces of narration heard on the Big Finish spin-off from the main Doctor Who series.

Of course this is not the end for the intrepid duo, nor is it the end for Leela’s enjoyable association with them but things are getting very dicey in Victorian London.

Swan Song is available to purchase as part of Jago & Litefoot Series Three from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.

Ian D. Hall