It's always a good day when a new SimG release drops on my digital doormat. So, times are extremely good when you receive two in a week. The first of these is one I was looking forward to receiving, as it was show I missed when it was produced last spring at the Landor Theatre - one of my favourite 'off West End' venues. The Landor, like so many of our smaller venues, present some real gems, both in terms of small scale revivals, and lesser known, or new musicals. Sleeping Arrangements falls into the latter of these categories, with music and lyrics by Chris Burgess - someone I've not come across before. The book however, is from good stock - Sophie Kinsella - author of, amongst other things - Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, Sleeping Arrangements tells the tale of Chloe who desperately needs a holiday. She’s sick of making wedding dresses and her partner, Philip has troubles at work. Her wealthy friend Gerard has offered the loan of his luxury villa in Spain – Perfect. Hugh is not a happy man. His immaculate wife Amanda seems more interested in her new kitchen than him and he works so hard to pay for it, he barely has time for his children. Maybe he’ll have a chance to bond with them on holiday. His friend Gerard has lent him a luxury villa in Spain. Both families arrive at the villa and realise the awful truth – Gerard has double-booked. What no-one else realises is that Chloe and Hugh have a history, and as tensions rise, old passions resurface. It seems that Gerard’s ‘accidental’ double booking may not be an accident after all.

The performers on the recording all reprise their roles from the Landor Production - Liza Pulman and Steven Serlin as Amanda and Hugh, Jenny Gayner and Grant Neal as Chloe and Philip, and not forgetting Sabrina Aloueche as the nanny Jenna and Adam Pettigrew as the 16 year-old Sam, my two favourite characters in the musical. The musical director and arranger is the talented Colin Billing, who's arrangements and work with the 6 musicians produce an excellent sound, and add another dimension to the score.

The songs are uniformly strong, and tell the story well, and a pleasing amount of complementing libretto is included. All of the cast deliver superbly - I really wish I'd caught this show - and are equally at home with the comedy in the piece as well as the more dramatic moments. The title song from the show features under various guises ('Drinking Arrangements', 'Eating Arrangements') and is very catchy. I loved the opening number, 'Monday Morning Blues' - it really sets the scene for the whole story. The numbers between Jenna and Sam are very cleverly constructed, and the more poignant numbers such as 'Falling' and 'Staring At The Stars' are equally good.

This really was an album I enjoyed on first listen, and grew on me the more I listened. It's another strong release for SimG.

9

Ian Gude