A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Synopsis

Bawdy musical based on the play of Plautus set in ancient Rome, with the hit Comedy Tonight! Pseudolus, the slave, is left in charge of his owner's young son who has fallen madly in live with a virgin in the house of Lycus, a slave dealer specializing in beautiful women. If he can rescue the girl he will be free! What can go wrong?

Our Review:

12 July 2004

Why shouldn’t the National let its hair down once in a while? The new production of the 1962 Broadway musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, being presented as part of the Travelex £10 season in the NT Olivier, is the perfect summer treat. And also, it so happens, the perfect piece for the scaled-down scenic resources of the £10 aesthetic, since the set it gets here is precisely the one this show usually gets, namely simple representations of the three houses in Rome, circa 200 BC, in front of which all the action takes place.

Here, to the accompaniment of a treasurable set of irresistibly witty songs (Stephen Sondheim’s first produced score for which he wrote both songs and lyrics), is unleashed a set of collisions in the guise of a hilarious sex farce.

Edward Hall’s swift, sunny and funny production also honours the clockwork precision of Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart’s book, inspired by the ribald plays of Plautus, and...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (193.23.116.11) - 30 September 2004:

Great fun. Wonderful cast who all seem to be enjoying themselves throughout the performance. Would like to have heard more of Philip Quast's voice (he's the only real singer in the production)but all in all a great night out....

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