A filmed performance of the production by Sam Mendes for the Donmar Warehouse, which gives Stephen Sondheim's work an intimacy it deserves. Adrian Lester plays Bobby, the 35-year-old singleton who looks and learns from his married friends.
Amongst the cast, the brilliant Clive Rowe (beautifully voiced on `Sorry-Grateful') and Sophie Thompson, excellent as crazy Amy. Perhaps the best of the lot (apart from Lester, whose oddly broken voice is perfect for `Marry Me a Little' and `Someone is Waiting') is Sheila Gish, as bitter, sarcastic Joanne belting out `The Ladies Who Lunch'.
Company was always one of the strongest Sondheim musicals and this is well-sung, well-acted, and even though a filmed stage play it looks excellent. Perhaps, despite the plaudits for his big movies, this kind of thing is truly where Mendes excels.
Amongst the cast, the brilliant Clive Rowe (beautifully voiced on `Sorry-Grateful') and Sophie Thompson, excellent as crazy Amy. Perhaps the best of the lot (apart from Lester, whose oddly broken voice is perfect for `Marry Me a Little' and `Someone is Waiting') is Sheila Gish, as bitter, sarcastic Joanne belting out `The Ladies Who Lunch'.
Company was always one of the strongest Sondheim musicals and this is well-sung, well-acted, and even though a filmed stage play it looks excellent. Perhaps, despite the plaudits for his big movies, this kind of thing is truly where Mendes excels.