True West - Review

Vaudeville Theatre, London


*****


Written by Sam Shepherd
Directed by Matthew Dunster

Kit Harington and Johnny Flynn

Squeezed into a lean and tightly filled two hours, Sam Shepherd’s True West is an acerbic glimpse of domestic dysfunctionality that plays out in sweltering Southern California, a blasted backfiring of the American Dream.

In this piece of exquisite theatre Kit Harington and Johnny Flynn are brothers Austin and Lee. The Ivy League educated Austinis apparently the slicker of the two, with a promising career beckoning as a Hollywood screenwriter. Lee, who initially suggests echoes of Oklahoma’s Jud, is poorly educated, a drifter as well as  a (potentially violent) criminal.

Yet Shepherd’s genius lies in showing that between these two siblings, once the trappings of academia are discarded, the smarts are equally shared. As layers are stripped away, so is the menace is calculatingly increased - and yet for all the improbability of Lee’s apparently usurping his brother’s gift for storytelling, Shepherd gives this tale of sibling rivalry a ghastly plausibility.

Perfectly cast, Harington is bookish, bespectacled and moustachioed - a wimp against the ripped six pack of his brother’s (bare chested in the second half) frame. Yet both men immerse themselves in compelling performances, ratcheting up the suspense with perfectly delivered dialogue, and immaculately choreographed movement. (Bravo fight directors Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown) 

The creative talent behind the production is flawless. Director Matthew Dunster painstakingly eliciting every carefully weighted nuance from Shepherd’s already well-honed script, as Jon Bausor’s ingenious trailer-trash set and Joshua Carr’s lighting, perfectly capture the Mojave desert’s oppression.

Dated perhaps, but the play’s dynamism is timeless. Harington and Flynn define scorching drama in what is unmissable theatre.

Runs until 23rd February 2019

Photo credit: Marc Brenner

Dead Funny - Review

Vaudeville Theatre, London


****

Written and directed by Terry Johnson

Katherine Parkinson, Steve Pemberton, Emily Berrington, Rufus Jones and Ralf Little

Terry Johnson deftly directs the West End revival of his 1994 play, a sharply observed often painfully funny dark comedy with several dramatic twists, as well as a good dose of slapstick and added custard pies.

The action takes place on the eve of the death of TV comic Benny Hill in 1992. The Dead Funny Society are a group of comedy enthusiasts, sharing a common interest in laughter. They regularly meet to re-enact classic sketches and celebrate the late great comedy masters such as Frankie Howerd, Max Miller & Eric Morecambe.

Richard, a consultant obstetrician is married to Eleanor. He routinely performs 5 hysterectomies a day and professes to not wanting to be touched "anywhere", to the frustration of his wife Eleanor who craves a baby. Katherine Parkinson's Eleanor, who often has the wittiest of lines, watches her marriage disintegrate before her eyes; the more she tries to connect with her husband, the more distant and cold he becomes. Rufus Jones's Richard, a stifled man-child of huge proportions, ignores the constant advances of his wife, even when lying fully naked on the floor whilst receiving relaxation "therapy", a scene so painfully funny that Jones should be awarded a West End medal for services to full frontal nakedness.

As Brian, Steve Pemberton commands the stage from his first entrance in a multi-coloured anorak clutching a Tesco carrier bag. A lovable aging mama's boy with a poignant vulnerability, Pemberton relishes every moment on stage, with a physical comedy that is as compelling as his perfectly timed one-liners.

Ralf Little and Emily Berrington play married couple and new parents Nick and Lisa. They embrace their membership of the Dead Funny Society but also have a fractured relationship which we discover is not all as it first seems. The emotional survival of all five characters is brought to stark reality with sharp repartee and often toxic verbal missiles.

As the only non-member of the appreciation society, Eleanor’s frustration at their antics is palpable. Parkinson portrays her with a sardonic charm and intelligence, only thinly veiling her pain. Her portrait is rooted strongly in reality, even in the sections of the play that offer more than a nod to the farces of Ray Cooney.

Johnson's play feels slightly old fashioned but that's more to do with the changes in comedy tastes in the past twenty odd years than his writing. Many of his throw way lines are utter gems, whilst when Eleanor speaks of her "tiny taps being turned off inside" Johnson piquantly reminds us just how well he can juxtapose painful drama right alongside hilarity.

A refreshing comedy that's a welcome addition to the West End. The stars cast in this play should have appreciation societies of their own.

Booking until 4th February 2017

Reviewed by Andy Bee

Photo credit: Alistair Muir

Hand to God - Review

Vaudeville Theatre


****


Written by Robert Askins
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel

Harry Melling

Hand to God is the cleverly written story of Jason (played by Harry Melling of Harry Potter fame) a quiet and awkward teenager, struggling to deal with his father's death six months prior.

Through his mother's church Puppet Therapy class, Jason discovers a friend in Tyrone, his sock-puppet, or so it would seem. As the story progresses Tyrone begins to act on Jason’s real thoughts and desires with wild abandon, from flirting with his classroom crush (Jemima Rooper) to standing up to and viciously attacking his bully (Kevin Mains), having sex and generally wreaking havoc. It has been suggested that Tyrone is the manifestation of a demonic possession and that dark forces are at work. More realistically though, the extreme puppetry touches upon the issues and mental struggles that Jason faces in dealing with his grief and the lack of support from his Janie Dee as his mother - who herself ends up having a steamy, slightly dominatrix-like affair with his bully in the church bathroom.

Mellings' performances of Jason and Tyrone are remarkable. From portraying the quiet and shy Jason one second, whilst the next giving an entirely juxtaposed performance of Tyrone complete with expert puppeteering, shows the makings of a very talented actor. 

It’s not just the performances that impress. Robert Askins' book is clever, crude and full of witty one-liners that make the audience cringe, cry out and laugh all at once. Beowulf Boritt's set is another highlight, detailed with clean and swift scene changes, it adds to making the show crisp and well put together.

In a story that some may find offensive, Hand to God is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Its quick humour, extensive set and intelligent subtext certainly will however make a big impression. Hand to God is an intriguing and relevant comedy with a heart of darkness that makes for excellent modern theatre.

Runs until 11th June

Reviewed by Charlotte Darcy

Di and Viv and Rose - Review

Vaudeville Theatre, London

****

Written by Amelia Bullmore
Directed by Anna Mackmin

Tamzin Outhwaitre, Samantha Spiro and Jenna Russell

Di, Viv and Rose has finally arrived in the West End after playing two sell out stints at the Hampstead Theatre. This story of a friendship forged between between three women who meet as undergraduates worked well in the intimacy of the north London venue and it is a delight to see the show move to the Vaudeville so effectively.

Tamzin Outhwaite reprises her role as Di, the gay and sporty member of the trio and she is now joined by Samantha Spiro as eccentric academic Viv and Jenna Russell as the ditsy if somewhat nymphomaniacal Rose and we meet the unlikely friends living together during their university years. The first act is a whirl of boyfriends (Rose), girlfriends (Di), studying (Viv), all set to an invigorating backdrop of eighties music. The humour of their lives is brilliantly observed, but when one of the trio is raped, the bonds of their friendship are tested. It is a credit to Bullmore that she can swing the play's mood from comedy to nightmare with such plausible dexterity.

The seismic shift in tone continues into the second half, where the friends are now women leading very separate lives and in which set designer Paul Wills’ brightly coloured student accommodation gives way to the grey stone walls of a harsher adult world. Viv has become something of a success in New York's fashion scene and flies her two friends over (in business class, to Rose’s great delight) to attend a launch. Yet despite the passage of the years, Bullmore’s prime conceit remains that while times, fortunes and hairstyles may change, true friendship remains a constant. She also contends that whilst three may not always be a crowd, a trio does generate a central nucleus. And in Rose, Jenna Russell shines for the talented natural warmth that she brings to the part.

Offstage, Outhwaite has gone on record about this female-led production (cast, writer and director are all women), commenting that “It's beautiful, it's wholesome, it's pure. It's a wonderful thing to work on." Turns out it’s also a wonderful thing to watch. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll laugh some more. Go see for yourself.

Booking until 23rd May 2015

Guest reviewer Louisa Shulman