REVIEW: A Couple of Swells, Duchess Theatre
Joes Stilgoe and Liza Pulman harmonise in the West End
Louisa Walters is Features Editor at the Jewish News and specialises in food and travel writing
Taking over the stage that usually houses The Play that went Wrong left me wondering whether the act could go wrong, but in truth that was never going to happen with a collaboration like Joe Stilgoe and Liza Pulman. The pair met online during lockdown and it was Liza’s idea that they should hook up IRL – musically, you understand.
They both have showbiz in their bones – Stilgoe is the son of songwriter Richard Stilgoe (who wrote lyrics for Cats and Phantom of the Opera) and Pulman the daughter of actress Barbara Young (who recently passed away aged 92) and Jewish screenwriter Jack Pulman who died when he was in his 50s .
With Stilgoe on piano and Pulman singing, A Couple of Swells has been on tour across the country and is a highly enjoyable romp mainly through the Great American Songbook, opening with Irving Berlin’s Stepping Out With My Baby and featuring That’s Entertainment, Don’t Rain On My Parade and Mountain Greenery. Both my children having got engaged recently, my personal favourite was Michael Legrand’s What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
At just 5ft 2 Liza is perfectly placed to sing Randy Newman’s Short People and she did a wonderful job with Stilgoe’s own composition Harmony.
Showing himself to be a natural comic, Stilgoe did a hilarious rendition of Frank Loesser’s The King’s New Clothes and a highlight was his party piece where he asked for requests from the audience, which he wove together into a medley changing a few lyrics. And so it was that we had a mash up of Duran Duran’s Rio, The Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun and Nelly The Elephant. Brilliant stuff.
The duo closed out with Me And My Shadow and then an encore of Leonard Bernstein’s Some Other Time. As always, Pulman invited the audience to come and say hello in the foyer after the show (and perhaps buy a CD or two). I do wish more artists would do this.
Like Barbra Streisand, whose music she is well versed in perfoming, Pulman has wonderful clear singing voice, enunciating every word. Stilgoe is a superb pianist and all-round performer and they harmonise beautifully together – most definitely a swell couple or, to be more accurate, a couple of swells.
19 May 2023 Bath, Theatre Royal
20 May 2023 Bath, Theatre Royal
21 May 2023 Haverhill Arts Centre
01 June 2023 Cardiff, Acapela Studios
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
