How to Win Against History

Tuesday 5th August

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From the moment we entered the udders of the cow at Underbelly and saw the bright arching lights of the proscenium and central podium, we knew we were in for something special.  Musical Director Dylan Townley,  a disconcertingly tall, thin figure in a flamboyant sparkly blue suit surveys the audience speculatively and greets new arrivals with a gracious nod as the anticipation builds.

This flashing, dashing whirlwind of a musical tells the initially poignant, ultimately triumphant but also sadly lonely story of Henry Cyril Paget, the young Edwardian 5^th Marquess of Anglesey, known to his circle as Toppy. 

Devised and written by Anglesey native Seiriol Davies, this musical was previously a smash hit at Edinburgh in 2016 and has been revived in association with the Bristol Old Vic.  Seiriol Davies himself plays Henry Cecil, with the wide-eyed, bewildered, anxious to please, half-smiling look of a youth desperate to find love, understanding and acceptance in a world that cannot tolerate difference.  Remember that his life played out during the years of Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley, contemporaries viewed by many as dangerously subversive and decadent. 

Little is known of Paget’s inner life as his family destroyed his personal papers.  Photographs of him were relegated to the toilet at the family home of Plas Newydd and treated as the family joke – if not disgrace – as during the course of a short life, he squandered most of the Anglesey fortune – one of the greatest of its time – failed to produce an heir despite marrying his (possibly equally asexual) cousin, and died bankrupt in Monaco at the age of 29. 

This musical takes us flawlessly and sympathetically through his unloved, lonely childhood in France, repressive and abusive years at Eton and a brief military career, trying to follow the Paget family tradition, which the sensitive Henry Cyril was totally unsuited to, although he tried.  This difficult period is portrayed through lively 19^th century style songs and gung-ho choreography in which colonial aggression features strongly.  This ended when his father’s death released him from the expectations of his class and time.  He inherited an enormous fortune and blossomed from an awkward, insecure boy into a fabulous butterfly.  He converted the family chapel at Anglesey Abbey into a theatre (not totally inappropriate, given the theatrical quality of religious architecture and ritual); named it the Gaiety Theatre and staged free performances for friends and locals, starring himself in wildly extravagant costumes. Unfortunately, nobody came – so he took his show on the road.  Seiriol Davies wears a golden gown and winged headdress based on one of the toilet photos, where Henry Cyril conjures the spirit of Queen Boudicca.  The high point is a fabulous butterfly confection, encrusted in jewels, spangles and glorious colours.  Seriol Davies effectively evokes the spirit of Henry Cyril as he twirls through the years of his lonely childhood to his theatrical climax, building to the triumph of being seen, acknowledged, accepted and applauded by us, the modern audience, as he was not by his contemporaries. 

This only too brief extravaganza, staged by a small cast accompanied by four musicians and the maestro, Dylan Townley, sweeps us along in Henry Cyril’s touching, fabulous, exuberant, glittering wake, with great playing from the musicians, fine singing and dancing from the cast, moving moments and toe-tapping triumphs in the musical numbers. 

History tried to erase Henry Cyril, but Seiriol Davies, his collaborators, cast and musicians have restored him as an icon, not just for the LGBTQ community, but for anyone who appreciates individuality, eccentricity, brilliance and sheer chutzpah. 

In short, this hugely enjoyable musical has finally enabled Henry Cyrill to Win Against History.  It is, in one word, FABULOUS! (TA)

How to Win Against History runs daily (not 18th) until August 24th at Udderbelly at Underbelly, George Square - details here