Seventy minutes with an 83-year-old who’s got all her marbles and oodles of talent besides was one brilliant way to spend a rainy afternoon in Edinburgh. Playing to a full house of 1200 capacity, Miriam Margolyes’ fan-base is younger than her which, of course, didn’t matter a jot to this outspoken and wonderfully entertaining woman. She had the crowd in the palm of her hand right from the get-go.
There were Margolyes followers in their twenties upwards, the younger members presumably fans of her outings in the Harry Potter series of films. My favourite Margolyes performance was the fabulous Italian nurse she played in Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo and Juliet. She was deliciously nuanced and funny in that role, bringing it to life as I’d never seen it before or since.
We listened to Sachmo as we waited in the plush seating, chatting and refusing the temptation of ice-cream and popcorn on offer while audience members sent in their questions for the second half via the Internet.
Margolyes enters, wearing glorious clothes to flatter her buxom figure and carries herself with the poise of a seasoned actor. Her facial expressions speak volumes and the ease with which she changes tone and accent is a gift to behold. She loves Dickens and I felt the same love when the words were moulded in Margolyees. It was a hugely entertaining and heart-warming show, comprising a selection of dramatised Dickens’ characters and followed by a personal Q&A session. Both were outstanding in very different ways.
In the flesh, Margolyes is charming, honest and caring. She has a lively mind and can conjure life stories that reach into that area of your belly where the guffaw lives. She is unflappable. When a young member of the audience flashed her breast unexpectedly, perhaps hoping to provoke some sort of scandalous response, Margolyes handled it with ease, good humour and candour. Then swiftly moved on.
Her political views are upright and moral and it is a joy to hear her no-nonsense sincerity. The way our social codes have been eroded over her lifetime is shocking. She is disappointed that these days anything goes, leaders make a mockery of the word and nothing changes within the corrupt corridors of power worldwide.
She expressed her heartfelt horror at the tragedy being played out in Palestine and her shame at her own Jewish community for not standing up for basic humanity amongst peoples. She feels that Hitler has won, given the cruelty now being meted out from an authoritarian Israeli regime.
Maybe the counter marches around the UK this week will herald a sea change in our communities and make an old(er) lady and me happy.
Margolyes was received with loud applause and she waved goodbye to a standing ovation of 1200 people. Don’t retire if you love your work! Performing and communicating is clearly keeping this woman young at heart. She claims she does it for the Care Home Fund, but I strongly suspect she simply loves what she does and who says she has to give that up? Margolyes is a true feminist and an example to us all. Nobody messes with her and she doesn’t waste time worrying what others think – or so it seems. She is kind-hearted, if brutally honest at times.
If you didn’t get a ticket, that is a pity, but fear not, you can find her at the wonderful Beyond Borders Book Festival at magical Traquair House on the weekend of 24th and 25th August. Make it a date. By then, the rain may have stopped.
Reviewer: Kathleen Mansfield
Reviewed: 8th August 2024
North West End UK Rating: