Marigolds, which are native to Mexico and Guatemala, were brought to Europe in the 16thC by the Spanish searching for gold. The Nahua of ancient Mexico believed their sun god, Tonatiuh, gifted them this “twenty petalled flower” because it not only healed wounds, but its musky scent was also the carrier of messages back to that god.

Stewart and Tricia Macpherson and Ben McDonald’s presentation of the stage version of a literary twenty-petalled flower, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, has just opened at Auckland’s Civic, running to 5 May. It then moves to Wellington’s St James for a season, 7^th – 12^th May.

The story of English seniors looking for sun, and another chance at life in their former colony, was first a book by British writer Deborah Moggach, published in 2004. The book’s overwhelming success propelled it to a film iteration, starring the powerfully talented Dev Patel, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, and Bill Nighy, with its author, Ms Moggach, writing the film script.  

Aotearoa’s own Helen Moulder (Gloria’s Handbag,The Bicycle & the Butcher’s Daughter, etc) gives us an impeccable Jean, wearing top of the line fashion and handing down opinions as if they are laws.

Shaan Kesha (Dairy Owner, Power Rangers, etc) is Sonny, desperately trying to marry the beautiful Sahani (Dhiya Redding, Goddess of the Night, Here I Am, etc) by raising the income level of the only asset he and his demanding widowed mother, Mrs Kapoor, have: a crumbling but still elegant hotel.

Sudeepta Vyas (A Fine Balance, Love ‘n Stuff, etc) floats Mrs Kapoor over the footlights with a convincing assurance. The scene between Mrs Kapoor and Sonny, fuelled by Mrs Kapoor’s fear that her only child and support may desert her, brings the audience to complete stillness. 

Glamorous, imperious, unstoppable Madge springs into being via Rula Lenska’s mischievous take on a character who hasn’t “been a kept woman – I started from scratch and now have spread across the Home Counties”. Bluntly spoken Muriel (Annie Ruth, Toi Whaakari) throws Madge into sharp relief with her Cockney-accented declaration for love, saying the death of her husband “’as lef a hole in m’eart.”

The story has been updated since its 2004 birth: this play includes a lesbian character, Dorothy, played by our own and inimitable Cathy Downes (The Case of Katherine Mansfield, Winter of Our Dreams, etc). Writer Deborah Moggach clearly has her tongue in her cheek when naming this character, as “being a friend of Dorothy’s” was for far too long the password into a gay landscape.  Ms Downes gives the play a moment of real stealth when she slowly reveals her sexual preference to a somewhat stunned group of her senior friends.

Paul Barrett ( Legend of the Seeker, the Z Nail Gang, etc) brings the rather needy, narcissistic Norman, to life, helped by his pleasing baritone, which is not intimidated by the Civic’s vast stage.

Constantly – almost – on set is Jimmy, a compelling character to this reviewer, played by British actor Harmage Singh Kalirai (Chicken Tikka Masala, A Very British Coup, etc). Jimmy is a sweeper, a remnant of those colonial days when just having a British accent was enough to cause misery, pain – or a paid job – for any indigenous person of India. Mr. Kalirari’s blend of invisibility, obsequiousness, and woe almost silently show colonialism “from the inside.”

I have mentioned eight of the full cast of thirteen, with no slur on those not mentioned. All did their jobs well, in my view, though some voices become tiny in the Civic’s grand space.

The set is just magnificent, perfectly placed to take advantage of the Civic’s breadth and depth.  Brock Coddington’s superb lighting gives us a cobalt night behind the Marigold Hotel’s arches and illuminates the beckoning nooks and crannies of its interior in daytime. Jimmy sweeps and sweeps its lengths and steps.

Originally created for the London stage, the costs of transporting the set to Aotearoa were prohibitive. Chris Reddington, freelance sculptor, set designer and musician in Christchurch re-created the set from Colin Richmond’s original London plans; it was then trucked across Cook Strait and up to Auckland.

Laughter, longing, leisure and anxiety are skillfully counter-pointed by the original musical soundtrack, which plays here too.  British composer Kuljit Bhamra has received an MBE for his music work, and the Auckland production shows why: bouncing vibraphone, plucked sitar strings, raga finger drums, this music design always has the story at its heart. British musician Mic Pool did the original sound design, which translates well to the Civic’s wide stage.

There was one odd moment in the play to this reviewer.  Shortly before the end of Act One, most of the players are on stage, standing, doing nothing in rather icy light, a curiously frozen moment. Presumably, director Lucy Waterhouse will snap them into action as the season zips along.

Possibly 700 other people were there with me and my Companion, who fully enjoyed this “sweet, warm play”. Perhaps 60% of the audience were seniors, which will have pleased the corporate heart of Kiwi part-sponsors, Ryman.  One of the Big Three in senior accommodation and care, New Zealand company Ryman is to be congratulated for their support in entertaining their core market.

Deliciously, I have also been gifted a ticket for the April 30^th performance in the glorious Civic. So, I’m very much looking forward to seeing what other pleasures are to be found in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

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