“Crouch captures perfectly every facet of Reed’s tormented personality “
Oliver Reed: Wild Thing returns to the capital after a much acclaimed UK tour and successful runs at the Edinburgh Festival. In terms of longevity, it has been around now for almost five years, an achievement many West End shows can only dream of.
Based around Reed’s autobiography, ‘Reed All About Me’, this one man show chronicles the hellraiser’s life from childhood misfit, across his acting years and right through to his alcohol sped demise in Malta in 1999.
As you might expect, much of the play involves alcohol and the effect it had on Reed, his colleagues and family. The show itself is set in the very bar where he collapsed on that fateful afternoon in May 1999.
Reed is brought to life by Rob Crouch (who co-wrote the play with Mike Davis). It felt immediately like the star was back with us, Crouch capturing perfectly every facet of Reed’s tormented personality. The voice was as if it was from beyond the grave, even the look and build could have been Reed.
The drunken chat show appearances are neatly portrayed as are the anecdotes about the infamous days long parties he hosted with stars such as Keith Moon in attendance. We hear of how he got his breaks and his working relationships with directors Michael Winner, Carol Reed (his uncle) and Ken Russell.
Whilst it is fair to say Reed brought about his own ultimate end through his love of indulgence and excess, there are moments when you feel utterly sorry for the man; unable to beat his addiction and exploited by some of the media as some kind of circus show freak.
If you have no idea who Oliver Reed was, then look him up. Alas the most watched and read about parts of his life are his boozed up misdemeanours on live television. Look beyond that and you will find an incredible talent – a star of films such as the Hammer Horror series, Oliver!, Women in Love (in which he became the first frontal male nude to appear on the British cinema screen), to his final appearance in Gladiator. The play at first seems though to focus on the drunken dramas that beset Reed, but look and listen and his talents are there, all around like fading ghosts of his past.
The show is only about an hour long, but nothing feels rushed. Oliver Reed: Wild Thing is intoxicating in every sense of the word, just like the great man himself.
Oliver Reed: Wild Thing
at the King’s Head Theatre until 28th January
Tuesday to Saturday at 9.15pm & Saturday matinee at 3.30pm
