Barry & Joan (12A, 87 mins)
BARRY & JOAN is an elegant film, in which Audrey Rumsby follows an elderly couple, the Granthams: she a little old thing at the piano; he dancing in his baker-boy cap and tappety-tap feet, both passing on their skills. The Granthams, teenage stage sweethearts now 75 years together, are Britain’s ‘best-kept theatrical secret’, still performing and teaching. Vaudeville is part of their tradition. But they are into everything, from commedia dell’arte to mime, eccentric dance and David Bowie. Barry was in Oh!
Verdict: Quick on its feet )))** What A Lovely War and Laurence Olivier advised him on acting (‘Just check your flies and go on’). There’s drag, nudity and the Norwegian Pillow Dance. They have toured as far as Leningrad and keep their young students on their toes. ‘Such a mess, living! Not tidy,’ says Barry happily. ‘We old people are meant to conform!’ They don’t. It’s touring small cinemas from Manchester to Cannes this month.