A very young looking Colin Firth stars in this fascinating journey through the back-stages of London musical hall life that follows the adventures of a young man as he leaves his privileged country squire life to serve at the foot (some might say the boot) of his actor uncle. The series certainly embraces the theatrical life in terms of documenting what life was like for the men and women who toured the countryside to bring entertainment to the masses, but director Alan Grint lets the fantastic elements of performance bleed into the world offstage in some unique and interesting ways. It’s only the bizarre scenery-chewing performance of Sir Laurence Olivier as the fading comic Harry Burrard that keeps the series from being as compelling as it wants to be. Every time Olivier shows up on the screen you attention wavers as you wait for him to leave.
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