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A few years ago I saw a touring production of South Pacific. It was a glorious, sumptuous musical but one thing grated. The plot hinged on Nellie Forbush giving up the love of her life, Emile de Becque, because the Frenchman had married a local woman and had two mixed race, Eurasian children. The idea today seems preposterous but in 1948 it presumably reflected entrenched attitudes towards race. In this new production, instead of glossing over the race issue, Trevor Nunn has made it central. He mercilessly exposes Nellie Forbush (Lauren Kennedy) as a redneck racist.
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Philip Quast as Emile de Becque looks like he's been dining on good French food and has great sexual appeal and a superb baritone voice although, together, I didn't think he and Nellie altogether convinced as a couple. Quast starts 'Some Enchanted Evening' very naturally and builds it into the great love song that it is. His acting talent shows - he has had non singing roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company - and his French accent is authentic.