Tea, Tournaments and a Secret Tearoom: Mr Moore's Bizarre Secret Society at Bridewell Theatre
If your idea of a good family outing usually involves a soft play centre and a lot of quiet suffering, Mr Moore's Bizarre Secret Society is a much better plan. It's a brand-new family play at the Bridewell Theatre, tucked just off Fleet Street in London, running from 30 September to 10 October. It's written by Gloria Danili, directed by Roman Stefanski, and pitched as a story for kids and grown-ups alike. Think Alice in Wonderland meeting A Christmas Carol, with a lot of tea involved. It's easy to see why it's getting attention.
The setup is charming. Two very different characters, Leopold and Mr Moore, bump into each other by chance and stumble on a disused tearoom hidden in the middle of the City. As they bring it back to life, they uncover its secret past, one tied to the misfits and dreamers who have always ended up in London's corners, and possibly even Queen Victoria herself. The pair form their own "Bizarre Secret Society" devoted to serving wild and wonderful teas. Then Vernon and the High Court turn up threatening to shut the whole thing down, and the fate of the tearoom comes down to a tea tournament. It's a wonderfully silly premise, and the Victorian setting gives it a cosy storybook feel.
The story is set in 1865, and it doesn't pretend Victorian London was all top hats and tea cosies. Young Leopold has been packed off to live with his miserable Uncle Vernon, in a city full of poverty and harsh punishment. Mr Moore is in even worse shape: he's elderly, in debt, and has just been thrown out of his home by debt collectors, so he's stuck on the street with nothing. Neither of them has much going for them when they meet by chance. That's what makes the discovery of the forgotten tearoom feel like such a lift, because these are two people who badly need somewhere to belong. Building a little secret society out of tea and stubbornness is the kind of underdog story kids love and adults quietly root for too.
The team behind it is a big part of the appeal. Roman Stefanski has spent decades at Polka Theatre and worked on dozens of family shows, so he knows how to hold a young audience. The music comes from Neil Brand, best known as a silent film accompanist, which suggests the score will do a lot of the storytelling. Michael Bertenshaw plays Mr Moore, and Sarah Finch, who has RSC and West End credits, takes on Queen Victoria. The voices of Michael Rosen and Linda Bassett add another layer of warmth and mischief.
It's recommended for ages 8 and up, which sounds about right given the darker Dickensian edges around the fun. It's probably not one for the very youngest, but anyone old enough to enjoy a proper story will likely be hooked by the tea tournament showdown. The full cast and crew haven't all been announced yet, so there may be more names to look out for as opening night gets closer. For now, the lineup is already a strong one: Michael Bertenshaw stars as Mr Moore, with the voices of Michael Rosen and Linda Bassett adding extra character to the world of the tearoom, all set to Neil Brand's music.
What I like most is the tone it's aiming for. The playwright describes it as freshly brewed, with a dash of Victorian charm, a pinch of Dickensian drama and a sprinkle of Lewis Carroll. That combination is hard to pull off, because plenty of "family shows" quietly bore the adults. This one is clearly trying to be a story about dreamers, romantics and stubborn optimists that works on both levels, with imagination as the hero. It's a nice message to slip in between the jokes.
