Even if no claims to impersonation have been made, audience expectations are sure to run high when dramatising a living legend. Sky high when that legend is Tom Jones, who is not only alive and well, but appears on prime time TV every Saturday night looking sharp as nails. 

Tom Jones really is one of Wales’ greatest exports, and Theatr Na Nog’s production (in partnership with RCT and NPT Theatres), Tom - A Story of Tom Jones, opened most appropriately on March 1st in his old hometown of Pontypridd at The Muni Arts Centre.

The experience was a bit harried to begin with but it was well worth it. Navigating Ponty’s one-way system and the search for parking tried to defeat me but my interest in seeing the company’s work kept me on course.

The Muni’s theatre space is a multi-purpose function room -- the temporary stadium seating was frightfully rickety, and especially hard on the knees; and having fourth row centre seats hardly mattered in the non-raked ‘orchestra’ section. So, while my partner had big bums on his worried mind, wondering whether the older ladies in rows one and two would be throwing big knickers, I had big heads on mine.

Four big headed men, one with big hair, too, sat down right in front of us. I began to rehearse sitting tall, when one of the men realised they would be blocking our view, very politely said so, and shifted down the row. From there the big haired man’s profile was now in clear view, and it didn’t take long to realise that he was a TJ lookalike, so our conversation continued. ‘Are you…?’ I started.

‘Yes’, he nodded, and then added:  ‘I tour the country. I want to go to Vegas. Look out for me on The Voice.’ https://www.youtube.com/user/buzzsinger. Dean Jones is a dead-ringer for Tom circa the late '80s/early '90s. He is charming, too, and he generously shared the attention with his fellow performer (another of the gents in row three): Ricky Arthur, he told us, was the UK’s #1 Michael Buble tribute artist http://www.michaelbublefever.co.uk/. We were chuffed to be in VIP company, and were ready to have a good time.

So was everyone else.

Mike James’ play with live music takes us back to the days before Tom Jones was The Tom Jones, even before he was Tom Jones – back to when he was Tommy Woodward, or Thomas Jones Woodward. The story gives us an insight into his journey – by no means an easy one – from humble beginnings to his first #1 hit, ‘It’s Not Unusual’.

It follows a simple bio-pic format, using the convention of a narrator (Hail, Phylip Harries!) to talk us through the significant moments of Tom Jones’ life, and vignettes between Tom and the key people in his life to dramatise them. The dialogue is simple, too, which serves to progress the story swiftly through the years. Hollow at times, but is peaked with a lot of colour and some quite meaningful moments as well.  

On one hand, the simplicity translated as sweetness and innocence which endeared me to the characters (notably Tom Jones’ eternally faithful wife Linda played by Elin Phillips, and Linda’s mother played by Nicola Reynolds) but on the other hand it felt shallow. We got the idea that Tom Jones’ rise to fame was tough, but there was no real true grit. (The only character that was truly hateful was Gordon Mills, a despicable portrayal by Dean Read). Off track for a moment, here’s a cool look at that man, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBZV_qlupl0. There were moments that made me chuckle, but there were no really deep belly laughs. (One of the funniest lines – paraphrased here -- was Linda’s description of Gordon Mills, delivered from inside a Ladies loo cubicle: He thinks he’s a ‘big shot from London. He’s nothing but a ‘little shit from Tonteg.’ Little did she know she was talking to his wife!)

I wonder whether the narration was a cop-out and whether it hindered the drama. Without the narrator, the characters would have had to fend for themselves and find their own way in and out of situations.  I found myself teetering between enjoying the ease with which the production’s simplicity enabled it to flow and really wanting more: more tension, more struggle, more laughter, more passion. In turn, the simplicity made and marred the production.

Sean Crowley’s set worked. It served the production extremely well, and had the potential to be superb, but it was too dark. More a criticism of the lighting then, because the entire stage most of the time was too dark to really maximise the set’s impact. I grew wary of wanting to see more but couldn’t, so settled into the half-light, half-satisfied.

Not surprisingly, what set the production alight were the musical numbers. Alive with talent and the 60s groove, we were back in that swinging era once the music got started. Right from the very first TJ note Kit Orton hit, and his very first TJ bump and grind, the audience wanted more. The first act ended beautifully with ‘A Rose in Spanish Harlem’ and the second act kicked off with the up tempo ‘Tell me What I Say’.  This was the show’s raison d’etre, and as the script suggests, it was also Tom Jones’ intention to start slow, undressing us with his songs….. That is exactly how it was… and as the story progressed, the show kept on giving. We were immersed and the show didn’t disappoint, right through to the end, when we were treated to a roll call of Tom Jones hits.

Playing Tom Jones is a challenge, as Director Geinor Styles speaks openly about in her notes: ‘Casting was a challenge. How do you find someone who can act, sing like Tom, move like Tom and have that great Welsh accent? We had our work cut out for us. We saw some stunning actors/singers, and I am delighted we have found our Tom in the talented, charming and sexy Kit Orton.’

The UK tv watching public are treated to a regular dose of the real Tom Jones’ cheeky grin and inimitable demeanor on The Voice. And we all feel like we know him, or at least that we ‘know someone who knows someone who knows Tom Jones’.  Orton has the look (not the exact look but one that worked perfectly) and the demeanor, and his voice has so many of the characteristics of TJ’s voice, matching it nuance for nuance, plus qualities of his own that made his performance very special but … dare I say… he was not quite sexy enough. And, maybe because it was a Monday night…. dare I suggest, his moves were convincing but were not performed with full-on conviction.

Critic’s hat off, general public hat on: I really enjoyed the production and the experience. It was a tight and stylish piece performed by a very talented ensemble. I love when an entire cast can rise above their particular characters, pick up an instrument and blow us away.  The audience was definitely with me on that, including my companions, one of which was a very critical teenager. He was impressed and was also glad he came.

What I took from Tom - A Story of Tom Jones is that Tom is a man who was known for his voice from a young age and that he was passionate about singing, but that didn’t necessarily translate to drive. Tom Jones needed the constant encouragement and support of the people around him. And he got it. It was the unconditional love, unending support and encouragement that kept him going, kept him from giving up, feeding him and refueling him with their fierce faith in him. Tom Jones is and always has been a very lucky man.

TOM tours the UK until May 3. Go to theatr-nanog.co.uk for details.