Addison Waite Archives - Page 19 of 26

★★★

“While the show is undoubtedly entertaining, it’s difficult not to wish for more thought behind the jokes”

We all know Timpson, the high street shop for your shoe-repair and key-cutting needs. But few know how the company came to be. The true story isn’t all that interesting: William Timpson and his brother-in-law Walter Joyce decided to go into business together. So Gigglemug Theatre have “invented a new one instead” (as their opening number goes): a musical Romeo and Juliet spoof, set in Victorian London, featuring Monty Montashoe and Keeleigh Keypulet as young lovers from two warring households.

Written and directed by Sam Cochrane and Chris Baker, Timpson: The Musical is pure slapstick. It’s a creative premise and an hour of sophomoric silliness that’s heavy on camp but unfortunately short on wit. The show’s humour is based on randomness rather than cleverness, which will work for some, but not others. ‘Keys are tiny saws!’ ‘I invented a dog door-flap, but for people! A people-flap!’ Someone runs screaming across the stage for no reason (something I’ve seen executed more successfully before). There are mimed punches and pratfalls. While the show is undoubtedly entertaining, it’s difficult not to wish for more thought behind the jokes. Some freshness of perspective would lift the comedy. Charlie Chaplin once said that the better joke is not the woman slipping on the banana peel; it’s the woman stepping over the banana peel and falling down a manhole. Timpson is a regular slip on a banana peel.

Although none of the songs are particularly memorable, they’re fun, and the singing is very well done all around. It’s a high-energy musical, and the actors give one hundred percent. Sabrina Messer is likeable as Keeleigh. James Stirling and Rachael Chomer are solid as Master Keypulet and Lady Montashoe. Alex Prescot (Man 1) deserves special commendation for his parody of multi-roling. Cochrane (Man 2) and Madeleine Gray (Monty) have impressive stamina. However, somehow, in a musical that is unmitigated camp, Gray’s performance is noticeably hammy. She pulls faces and leans heavily into physical and verbal jokes that are not sound enough to hold the weight. The exaggeration could use some dialling back. Regardless, the performers are all on full-force. This is not a show that will have you surreptitiously checking the time.

The audience last night exemplified the divisiveness of Timpson’s humour: one section never missed a cue to laugh, while in mine I may have heard a cricket on several occasions. A good litmus test is this: if you find the thought of keys being ‘tiny saws’ very funny, go see the show. If not, be warned that incredibly this joke is the crux of both the comedy and the story.

Reviewed by Addison Waite

Photography courtesy Gigglemug Theatre

In Search of Applause

Old Red Lion Theatre

Reviewed – 13th February 2019

★★

“Though there is some good writing and funny moments, the format is difficult to engage in, and an unrelatable protagonist with an unrelatable problem doesn’t help”

Lorelei loves the stage. She’s a professional clown, or she would be, if it wasn’t so competitive and London wasn’t so expensive. She had to take regular jobs to survive. But then she met Nigel. Nigel has money to burn, and suddenly Lorelei finds herself in a situation where she doesn’t need to work. She’s comfortable. Secure. She has all the time in the world to pursue clowning. And yet, somehow, two years later, she still hasn’t got around to it.

In Search of Applause is billed as a one-woman romantic comedy about the sacrifices we make for security. The play, written and performed by Maroussia Vladi, and directed by Andrew Hurst, does not match the description. First, it’s not a romantic comedy. It’s a series of Lorelei’s ruminations on why, even with Nigel’s endless resources at her disposal, she isn’t happy. Vladi uses elements of physical theatre, including mime, to set a light, comedic tone. But ‘romantic comedy’ is a genre that establishes very concrete expectations, none of which are met.

Second, the programme says the play asks how much we’re willing to sacrifice for comfort and security. It’s misleading because it suggests the relatable dilemma of sacrificing dreams for stability and careers that pay. In Search of Applause isn’t about this. The actual question the play poses is: would you stay with someone you didn’t love for his or her money? It’s not surprising the show isn’t billed this way, as it’s an outdated premise modern audiences will have little interest in.

Because the set, costumes, and props are 1950s, it’s perplexing to be made gradually aware the play is set in the present day. The 50s style may be a metaphor for Lorelei’s “old-fashioned”, How to Marry a Millionaire mentality, but it’s so contrived and disorienting it works against the story rather than for it. While the design is aesthetically interesting, and there’s clever use of props, it’s hard enough to believe we’re anywhere but a small pub theatre without the set screaming the wrong era.

The show itself is a long sixty minutes of stilted, one-sided conversations – an onslaught of rambling and artless ideas. Though there is some good writing and funny moments, the format is difficult to engage in, and an unrelatable protagonist with an unrelatable problem doesn’t help.

The script, in many ways, paints Lorelei as vapid, “insensitive and spoilt”. A stereotypical ‘trophy wife’. She wears heels and lingerie slips. That this person could also be a clown stretches the limits of imagination. And we’re given no assistance. For a story about someone who loves clowning, the almost complete absence of it form the show leaves a gaping hole. We never see Lorelei as a clown. It’s a missed chance for boldness, an infusion of much needed freshness to the performance, and believable depth to the character.

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 19th February 2019

★★★

“While the show is undoubtedly entertaining, it’s difficult not to wish for more thought behind the jokes”

Reviewed by Addison Waite

Photography courtesy Gigglemug Theatre

Timpson the Musical

King’s Head Theatre until 9th March

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Old Red Lion Theatre

Reviewed – 13th February 2019

★★

“Though there is some good writing and funny moments, the format is difficult to engage in, and an unrelatable protagonist with an unrelatable problem doesn’t help”

The show itself is a long sixty minutes of stilted, one-sided conversations – an onslaught of rambling and artless ideas. Though there is some good writing and funny moments, the format is difficult to engage in, and an unrelatable protagonist with an unrelatable problem doesn’t help.

In Search of Applause has glimmers of intriguing ideas, but they need development.

Reviewed by Addison Waite

Photography by Ian Hart

In Search of Applause

Old Red Lion Theatre until 2nd March

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: