PAST TENTS at the Golden Goose Theatre
★★★
“The actors, as writers, producers and performers, are committed and sincere.”
Alan and Justin take a lot of getting used to. Alan, in particular, is a rancid bundle of petty aggression and intolerance.
He literally crashes into a campsite having totalled his car shortly after admitting on the phone to his estranged wife that he’s also ruined his life.
There to greet him is irrepressible Justin, a campsite veteran of six years. With his Hawaiian shirt, endless optimism, cheer-up-mate schtick and his (unseen) family Justin is set for life.
Alan takes out his bad day on the indefatigable Justin (a versatile David J Keogh) whose relentless cheer begins to grate with the same nails-on-chalkboard efficiency as Alan’s shouty malice.
It is close to unbearable for much of the first half hour. The production comes at you like a pub drunk: loud, aggressive and unbalanced. The sub Carry On innuendoes and gross-out indulgences are relentless. (Seth Jones, as Alan, has a remarkable repertoire of gag reflexes and he plays them like a virtuoso.)
However, it settles. Be assured. The production finds a rhythm and a purpose. The campsite is many things, not least of which is a bleak circus where men become clowns and fall from grace into buckets of goo. And, with that in mind, the drama begins to take shape.
While Justin remains disturbingly cheery, newbie Alan must endure degradations beyond the measure of men in order to be reduced to his core. Hyper-active Jones, also the director, shows an unending capacity to manufacture his own discomforts. Hats off to him.
Also, a special mention for Mark Keegan as Virgil, a kind of camp commandant, with a natty line in off-colour banter. He shows a deft touch that allows the comedy to breathe.
The script is not embarrassed about revealing its secrets either. Spoilers litter the campsite like autumn leaves. At one point Alan cites a Hollywood actor whose mere mention prefigures an upcoming twist of an emotional subplot. No worries – we were all thinking it – but we’re just a little shocked he gave the game away with no obvious benefit.
But what we have beneath this endless bickering is an earnest attempt to examine the capacity of men to go to any lengths to avoid talking about their mental health.
Even as far as camping in the rain.
In that context, Justin and Alan are made for each other. In one plausible interpretation, the campsite is a depressed man’s mind – all denial, self-loathing, humiliations and anguish. No wonder the writers – Keogh and Jones themselves – keep the trousers dropping and the slapstick sticky.
Because when the truth comes, bespeckled though it may be with bodily fluids, it does hit home. The grand reveal is neat, satisfying and, if not shocking – the script having given up the goods too early – then certainly played for a pathos that works.
This is a public health advisory of sorts, albeit one presented on a stage dressed with an elephantine amount of sheep dung. Maybe don’t bring your granny – but do bring your dad.
The actors, as writers, producers and performers, are committed and sincere. They give a lot in energetic performances that are worthy of applause.
This is an evening with a grand appetite, a big heart and an important mission. It might even save a life. Beat that.
PAST TENTS at the Golden Goose Theatre
Reviewed on 3rd October 2024
by Giles Broadbent
Photography by Maria Kennedy
Previously reviewed at this venue:
JOCK | ★★½ | June 2024
STREET SONGS: A BUSKER’S TALE | ★★★★ | April 2024
WHAT I REALLY THINK OF MY HUSBAND | ★★★ | November 2023
STRANGERS IN BETWEEN | ★★★★ | September 2023
PAST TENTS
PAST TENTS
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