Flowers for Mrs Harris at Riverside Studios – review

It’s taken Flowers for Mrs Harris six years to get a London opening – and you can see why. This musical version of the story of a cleaning lady who saves for two and a half years to go to Paris to buy a dress by Christian Dior doesn’t exactly scream razzle dazzle. But it is full of love.

Based on a 1958 novella by Paul Gallico, an author who knew exactly how to tug the heart strings, it is gentle, warm and full of the joys of kindness and generosity. It understands the value of dreams, of how longing for something beautiful – a work of art – can inspire and sustain. It is in its own quiet way a masterpiece.

But it is definitely quiet and resolutely unsentimental. The film version of the book, which came out last year, starring Leslie Manville, did the obvious thing and expanded a sub-plot around a love story between a glamorous Parisian model and a Dior employee. This adaptation faithfully keeps its eyes fixed firmly on 53-year-old Ada Harris, war widow, struggling on in a grimy post-war London, sustained only by tea, conversations with her imaginary husband and her determination to own a dress that “somehow just found a piece of me”, opening her eyes to the possibility of beauty in the world.

As Ada, Jenna Russell’s richly expressive voice and quality of contained goodness are as colourful as the iridescent organza that she sees in a client’s wardrobe. She lights up the heart of the show, a beacon of hope. But around her, Bronagh Lagan’s production has lost some of the fizz needed to propel this simple story forward. It sometimes seems a bit too slow and drab to unleash its potential.

On the Riverside’s shallow stage, Nik Corrall’s set does a clever job of conjuring the various venues where Mrs Harris cleans, but even with the help of some imaginative lighting from Adam King, it can’t quite suggest the opening up of Ada’s mind that her trip to Paris involves.

This new version keeps Lez Brotherston’s lush approximations of Dior dresses that starred in the Daniel Evans’ original production at the Sheffield Crucible in 2016, but it misses the elan with which those frocks swirled onto the stage, ushering in a sense of possibility and wonder. The whole production feels constrained and crimped in its presentation; even the singing of the sung-through score seems occasionally nasal and timid.

Nevertheless, there is still much to relish. Annie Wensak is a good-hearted comic pleasure as Ada’s best friend Violet, obsessed with the idea that her next-door neighbour is getting snooty – “Cos you live closer to Clapham, you think you’re la-di-da” she snaps – before inevitably coming round to her pursuit. Hal Fowler provides generous support both as Ada’s long-dead Albert and a sophisticated French Marquis, while Kelly Price adds a touch of elegance as a sad soignée Parisian.

Thanks to them and to Russell casting her magic, Flowers for Mrs Harris retains its ability gently to break your heart even as you smile with recognition. It’s a lovely show.