Alexander McQueen's designs were provocative and theatrical. Five years on from his death, it’s not hard to grasp why this most fierce and fragile of artists is being glorified on stage. But this plodding and thinly plotted piece lacks the dramatic daring of a McQueen catwalk show.
James Phillips’s play draws its central idea from McQueen’s 2008 collection The Girl Who Lived In The Tree. Though there are cameos from Tracy-Ann Oberman as the designer’s mentor Isabella Blow and Laura Rees as a stuck-up journalist, Phillips focuses on the private McQueen — known as Lee rather than Alexander — and his rapport with Dahlia, a fan who is in effect his alter ego.
John Caird’s production is visually opulent and features striking choreography by Christopher Marney. But the show’s arresting looks can’t compensate for its lack of substance and soul. Dianna Agron from TV’s Glee, making her British stage debut, gives an oddly stilted, colourless performance as Dahlia. Not that she has great material to work with — the part is flatly conceived. Phillips’s writing is stuffed with biographical snippets and pretentious musings, only coming alive when it engages with McQueen’s craftsmanship.
A shaven-headed Stephen Wight wrings as much as he can from the title role. He looks a lot like McQueen and conveys his charm, romanticism and rage. As he creates a dress on stage from scratch or broodingly waits for inspiration, he transcends the limitations of the script and comes close to suggesting the designer’s tormented genius.
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