Lord, its an Ehle of a shame

Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story has proved itself, time after time, across a multitude of genres, as an intelligent romantic comedy' that people want to see.

The Old Vic's current production, however, lacks the pace, passion or panache required to do Barry's script the justice it deserves.

The day before Tracy Lord is due to be married, two reporters show up at the house to cover the social event of the year. Aggrieved by the media intrusion, the Lord family sets out to give glossy magazine Destiny exactly what they expect only in spades.

Unfortunately for Tracy, having a matchmaking teenage sister, a philandering father, and a good-time-boy ex-husband (who keeps popping over from his house next door) means nothing, not even the wedding, can go according to plan.

Barry originally wrote The Philadelphia Story for Katharine Hepburn, who received rave reviews for her performance as Tracy Lord when the play first opened on Broadway in 1939.

A majority of the play's success rides on the actress playing the part of Ms. Lord, as the other roles are minor by comparison.

Jennifer Ehle's performance as socialite Tracy Lord is so technical it strips away any of the character's motivation and leaves the audience cold.

Adrian Lukis, who has stepped into the role of CK Dexter Haven (until Kevin Spacey returns from filming Superman), gives a passionate performance as Tracy's ex; but Ehle is so busy acting', rather than being', you begin to wonder if he might do better talking to a wall.

Newcomer Talulah Riley's hammed-up performance as Dinah Lord (which sees her flouncing around the stage like a five-year- old, rather than acting like the teenager she is supposed to be) irritates you from the start; yet works particularly well in the let's pretend scene' when the Lord family meet DW Moffet for the first time.

In general the men give better performances than the women: Mike Connor is particularly well cast as reporter DW Moffet, and Nicholas Le Prevost (whose films include Traffic and Stealing Beauty) has a good old time as the lecherous Uncle Willy.

Set designer John Lee Beatty has out-done himself, especially in the second act which, set outside on the veranda, has a summer Tuscan feel to it.

The costumes are exquisite and speak volumes about the grace and sophistication of the times.

If only director Jerry Zaks returned to give his cast some notes such as pick up the pace and let Barry's dialogue do the all work, then The Philadelphia Story might actually stand a chance of being an amusing show.

Philadelphia Story runs at the Old Vic until September 3. To book call 0970 060 6628.