Old Fools - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

****

Written by Tristan Bernays

Directed by Sharon Burrell

Frances Grey and Mark Arends

Old Fools from Tristan Bernays is a perceptive portrayal of the debilitation that Alzheimer’s disease is wreaking upon an ever growing number of our elderly. A well crafted script that weaves its arc across the decades of Tom and Viv’s marriage, Bernays cleverly plays with time in a way that echoes Alzheimer’s corrosions of the brains synapses and connections.

A two hander that lasts little more than an hour, we meet Tom and Viv in their youth, dancing to the 1930s classic (and subsequently covered by everyone from Sinatra to Bublé) The Way You Look Tonight. A neat twist from Bernays sees the melody, refrained as a motif, poignantly re-appearing as the links between distorted memories and the ever-crumbling present become increasingly pronounced.

Mark Arends and Frances Grey tackle their roles magnificently - both with distinctly different challenges. Arends has to convince us (and he does) that he can morph instantly from carefree young lover, to a decaying geriatric, while Grey, who retains her sanity throughout, plays not only the loving Viv, but also occasionally their daughter Alice too, capturing the child from her infancy through to adulthood.

Bernays is brutal in his dissected devastation of the condition. In their later years, as Viv is providing Tom’s personal care, the pain etched on her face as he confuses her for his mother is tangible. In a flash backed moment we learn too of Tom’s marital infidelity in years long past. While their marriage may have healed the scars remain making the loving support from wife to husband even more heartbreakingly acute. The play is as much a study upon love as it is about dementia. 

Sharon Burrell directs with a profound delicacy – ably assisted by Lucie Pankhurst’s movement and choreography. Played in the round, if there is but one niggle, it is the (rare) moments when the actors’ work can be briefly hard to see. Peter Small’s lighting work is sharply effective too, transporting us through the years in a heartbeat.

Many in the audience will recognise either a nuance or, perhaps, a reality in the world that Bernays and his company create. And for those who to date have been spared the tragedy of Alzheimer’s affecting a loved one, its menace looms large to us all and to our families.

Old Fools is brilliant devastating theatre, marking Bernays out as an outstanding talent amongst his generation. It deserves a life beyond this stunning premiere – until then, it is an unmissable production at the Southwark Playhouse.

Runs until 7th April

Photo credit: Nat James Photography

Teddy - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

***

Witten by Tristan Bernays

Music by Dougal Irvine

Directed by Eleanor Rhode

Will Payne

Teddy is a new piece of theatre from Tristan Bernays and Dougal Irvine that sets out to depict the Teddy Boy era of 1950’s London. It's all about rock and roll and austerity in post-war Britain, but much like the Teddy Boys it tells of, the play's slickly packaged but scratch its surface and there's a show unsure of itself and seemingly still seeking its own identity. A 4-piece band and a programme listing 10 musical numbers, hint at what might be a musical, but the incessant monologues that occupy most of its 100 minutes (and which feel much longer) define it as a play in need of improvement.

Bernays writes the words and Irvine the melodies. In recent years Irvine has shown himself to be one of the sharpest songwriters around (his Departure Lounge musical was a brilliant study on contemporary teenage angst) but here he is confined solely to tunesmith responsibilities – a talent sadly squandered.

Joseph Prowen and Jennifer Kirby as the Teddy Boy teenage romantics Teddy and Josie put in flawless performances, taking us through what may well have been a typical night in 1950s South London, save for a sensational and unconvincing denouement. Their narrative tells of the countless characters encountered – and whilst Bernays’ intentions are honourable, the non-stop verbal assault of his speeches try our patience. Teddy’s actors and musicians are a 6 litre engine powering a struggling concept show.

One needs to hear more of the band. Alice Offley’s wonderfully uber cool bass-playing Jenny sings with a glorious Southern twang that could almost suggest The Blues Brothers’ Good Ole Boys, whilst Will Payne’s Johnny Valentine offers up a convincing rocker. It is only Irvine’s music and the show’s two stunning leads that redeem the show.

Bernays needs to rip up much of his pretentious and assonant alliteration – and replace it with a generous helping of lyrics from Irvine, a proven wit-meister. Oh and give choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves a decent sized ensemble to work with too. To suggest a packed and heaving dance floor, complete with revolving mirror ball with only two actors, is just downright mean spirited. The audience deserves more.

Runs until 27th June 2015

Picture by Darren Bell