The Rolling Stones in Court
“You have to remember your son isn’t a hostile witness!”
Carol Havers
Redlands is the home in West Wittering, Sussex of Keith Richards (Brenock O’Connor) guitarist with The Rolling Stones. It was here in February 1967 where Keith Richards and Mick Jagger (Jasper Talbot) were arrested and charged with drugs related offences. Author Charlotte Jones has framed the story of the Rolling Stones trial with that of their defence counsel Michael Havers QC (Anthony Calf) and his son, actor Nigel Havers (Louis Landau), who was 16 when he met Marianne Faithfull (Emer McDaid).
1967 is a time of flux; Swinging London was in full swing and the Baby Boomers of the 1960s were questioning the Establishment and their parents’ values. Mick Jagger has been defamed in the News of the World and the editor is out for revenge. The scurrilous newspaper had muddled up Brian Jones and Mick Jagger.
The play opens with Nigel Havers acting in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at school and his opening scene is interrupted by his father arriving very late and shouting at everybody. Michael Havers is the third generation of Havers to be in a legal occupation. His grandfather was a solicitor, his father, Sir Cecil Havers, known as Bongo (Clive Francis) was a High Court judge and Michael goes on to be knighted and becomes the Attorney General. Nigel’s story is that he would prefer to be an actor rather than going into the law.
The first song is “You Can Make It If You Try” and at Redlands we see George Harrison (Riley Woodford) and Pattie Boyd (Ella Tekere) leaving the party. A man called Sniderman (Adam Young) turns up at the house with a box full of psychedelic drugs. His nickname is The Acid King and no-one knows how he got invited. Although the play is fictional much of its content is known fact with information about the Havers family drawn by Charlotte Jones from Nigel Havers’ autobiography.
The Sussex police raid the house and Mick Jagger is arrested for possession of four tablets of Benzedrine bought legally in Italy and previously prescribed by his doctor, and Keith Richards is arrested for letting his premises be used for the taking of drugs. Mysteriously Mr Sniderman is not arrested.
In the raid most of the occupants of “Redlands” are high. Marianne Faithfull answered the door in a large pink rug. The local constabulary aren’t the brightest but Mick and Keith co-operate fully. “Not Fade Away” is sung while two of the police dance to the band.
Nigel Havers waits for an autograph from Marianne Faithfull after her acting in The Seagull and she takes him shopping. Clad in new clothes they go clubbing to “Going to a Go-Go”. There is great humour when his grandfather sees Nigel’s new bell bottoms and floral shirt and says, “I was mistaken for a queer, once. I was holding a tambourine at the time.” In an interlude, Marianne Faithfull sings “This Little Bird”.
Scenes at home show Michael Havers’ stuffy character. In his Chambers he is approached by the Rolling Stones’ manager Allen Klein (Ben Caplan) to defend Jagger and Richards at the Crown Court in Chichester. In the Court, a section of the audience is lit up and told that they are the jury. Both musicians dress in frilly clothes and make it obvious that they do not take the court very seriously and fool around. Keith and Mick sing “Can I Get A Witness” while Judge Leslie Block is unamused, shouts “Order! Order!” and clears the Court. Havers has told us Block is called “The Hanging Judge”.
In Act Two, Nigel Havers bonds with his grandfather who suggests that Nigel should go to watch his father advocating in court. The song “Mercy, Mercy” reopens the court scene with the presentation of their defence. They sing “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”. The jury’s verdict comes in and Jagger and Richards shockingly receive prison sentences, usually unheard of for first convictions.
Marianne visits Nigel at home and meets his father. She sings “As Tears Go By” and makes a visible impression on the QC. The next day William Rees-Mogg, the Editor of the Times and Jacob Rees-Mogg’s father, writes a famous leader about the injustice of the case headed “Who Breaks a Butterfly on a Wheel?” saying that there has been a terrible miscarriage of justice in the sentencing. There are demonstrations in favour of the Stones.
Michael Havers secures bail for the Stones, invites them to the Garrick club where they corner Judge Block in a highly comic moment. Clive Francis comes into his own as the highly likeable Cecil Havers and everybody compares their relationships with their own fathers. Anthony Calf has such a strong range as the outspoken barrister and is remonstrated with by his wife Carol (Olivia Poulet). His opening scene interrupting the school play is one enjoyment I’ll never forget.
I was so impressed with Jasper Talbot’s singing as Mick Jagger and marvelled at his body moves getting Mick Jagger’s slight stance and energetic contortions with perfection. Brenock O’Connor too captures Keith Richards’ posture with guitar and at the microphone. Emer McDaid has the soft voice I remember, singing two of Marianne Faithfull’s hits. Louis Landau is impressive as Young Havers who does win an audition at RADA.
At the Court of Appeal, there is a comeuppance for the News of the World at their staging the police raid and hiring the Acid King, a precursor of the scandal that brought the paper down with the phone hacking cases 44 years later. The penultimate song is “Ruby Tuesday” and finally there is a celebratory “Jumping Jack Flash”.
What a marvellous show from director Justin Audibert and I feel sure we shall see more of Redlands on transfer. Of course many in the Chichester audience will have lived there during the trial. It has everything, a true life drama, great music and singing, dance sequences, fun, humour and great performances. For all of this, we have no hesitation in awarding five stars to Redlands from Theatrevibe, the theatre site that doesn’t do stars.
Musical Numbers
Act One
You Can Make It If You Try
Not Fade Away
Going to a Go-Go
This Little Bird
Can I Get A Witness
Act Two
Mercy, Mercy
I Can’t Get No Satisfaction
As Tears Go By
Ruby Tuesday
Jumping’ Jack Flash
Production Notes
Redlands
Written by Charlotte Jones
Directed by Justin Audibert
Cast
Starring:
Jasper Talbot
Brenock O’Connor
Anthony Calf
Clive Francis
Emer McDaid
Louis Landau
Ben Caplan
Riley Woodford
Melody Chikakane Brown
Lara Rose McCabe
Sam Pay
Olivia Poulet
Akshay Sharan
Ella Taker
Adam Young
Louis Landau
Lara Rose McCabe
Creatives
Director: Justin Audibert
Choreographer: Shannelle ‘Tali’ Fergus
Set Designer: Joanna Scotcher
Costume Designer: Ryan Dawson Laight
Composer and Orchestrator:
Benjamin Kwasi Burrell
Lighting Designer: Matt Daw
Sound Designer: Claire Windsor
Musical Director: Alan Berry
Information
Running Time: Two hours 50 minutes with an interval
Booking until 18th October 2022
Theatre:
Chichester Festival Theatre
Oaklands Way
Chichester
PO19 6AP
Rail : Chichester
Telephone: 01243 781312
Website: cft.org.uk
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge at the
Chichester Festival Theatre at the press performance
on Monday 30th September 2024
