The White Chip - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

****

Written by Sean Daniels

Directed by Matt Ryan

Ed Coleman and Ashlee Irish

The White Chip (a reference to the Alcoholics Anonymous programme) is a meticulous exploration of one man’s journey through alcohol addiction. Following acclaimed USA productions, Sean Daniels’s play now makes its London debut under the sharp eye of director Matt Ryan and producer Danielle Tarento.

In a Herculean performance of physical and mental prowess, Ed Coleman is Steve, Daniels’s loosely autobiographical protagonist. Lee Newby’s simple yet effective designs create a space in which we follow Steve from his first beer (aged twelve) through his stumbling into the grasp of addiction and the ensuing college and workplace trauma and on into rehab admittances and despair.

Daniels’s script is relentless in its tracking of Steve’s tragic arc, with the extent to which we witness the denials and deceptions, to family, friends and co-workers proving harrowing and profoundly well written theatre.

Alongside Coleman, Mara Allen and Ashlee Irish deliver all the necessary supporting roles to flesh out the narrative, both giving performances that reflect the energy of the show’s leading man. Amidst an array of Tarento’s typically excellent production values, with the evening’s dialogue being so rapid-fire and intense, there are some disappointing moments when the usually excellent Max Pappenheim’s sound design wanders in its accuracy.

But for all this play's brilliance in its writing and its powerhouse performances and notwithstanding the story's uplifting endgame, at 100 minutes with no interval it all makes for an evening of tough drama that at times prove too exhausting to effectively digest. The breakneck sequencing of scenes and tableaux, all key points in the narrative that are lined up to demand our attention can feel overwhelming. 

The White Chip is an important play that demands to be seen. Tough gig though.

Runs until 16th August

Photo credit:Danny Kaan

The Lion - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

***

Music, lyrics and book by Benjamin Scheuer

Directed by Alex Stenhouse and Sean Daniels

Max Alexander-Taylor

There are likely to be few more impressive performances than Max Alexander-Taylor’s turn as Ben in The Lion now playing in Southwark Playhouse’s Little space. In the 75 minute one-act piece, Alexander-Taylor, aided only by 5 guitars (4 acoustic, 1 electric) takes Benjamin Scheuer’s autobiographical look back at the first 30 years of his life, in a virtuoso combination of acting and musicianship.

Alexander-Taylor’s first class performance however is stifled within a structure that barely gets beyond the two-dimensional. The Lion is more scripted cabaret than theatre, with Scheuer treating the audience almost as his therapist, The show's narrative (comprising both lyrics and their linking monologues) is almost entirely expositional, with minimal dramatic substance to lift the tale. We learn that Scheuer had a troubled relationship with his father and subsequently his mother, a failed relationship and that at 30 he was blighted with a (thankfully cured) debilitating cancer. While this may be an undoubtedly sincere and humbling narrative, as presented it is neither gripping nor memorable drama. All too often modern musical-theatre writing can descend into little more than self-indulgent, introspective balladry. The Lion descends deeper than most.

Scheuer’s journey will resonate with many as dysfunctional families, depression and cancer are sadly all too common. But worthy causes alone do not a musical make. Outstanding work from Max Alexander-Taylor, but this lion fails to roar.

Runs until 25th June

Photo credit: Pamela Raith