Tag Archives: Alex Oates

All in a Row

All in a Row
★★

Southwark Playhouse

All in a Row

All in a Row

Southwark Playhouse

Reviewed – 18th February 2019

★★

 

“From an inclusivity perspective, the use of a puppet instead of an actor is the wrong choice. From an artistic perspective, it is also the wrong choice”

 

Martin (Simon Lipkin) and Tamora (Charlie Brooks) are the parents of an eleven-year-old boy called Laurence. Laurence is autistic and requires constant care and supervision, something that is lovingly provided by his carer Gary (Michael Fox). Tomorrow, Laurence is leaving his family and going to a school that can give him the level of care he needs and deserves. But is it the right decision? And who made the call that forced his parents into this position?

If you read the above paragraph again, you might notice that a detail is missing. What is the name of the actor playing Laurence? But Laurence is not played by a living, breathing actor; instead, he is represented by a ginger-haired, grey-faced puppet (operated by Hugh Purves). This decision has been at the heart of a backlash against All in a Row, with some campaigners calling it ableist and dehumanising.

From an inclusivity perspective, the use of a puppet instead of an actor is the wrong choice. From an artistic perspective, it is also the wrong choice. It places an unnecessary barrier between Laurence and the audience, leaving us unable to connect with him. Even during the most heart-breaking scenes, Purves’ puppetry cannot convey the same emotion that an actor could: in fact, Laurence often disappears in the midst of his parents’ personal drama.

Unfortunately, this makes the rest of the show difficult to watch; even the strong moments were marred by the general sense of discomfort. And I do want to emphasise that there were good aspects. Lipkin and Brooks are utterly convincing as the warring parents whose love for their son is burdened by their frustration. The bond that Fox’s kind and earnest Gary forges with Laurence is genuinely sweet; it is easy to imagine how much he enriches Laurence’s life. PJ McEvoy’s set design is evocative, blending domesticity with more stylised aspects, such as the arch of crossed lines that extends across the back of the stage.

Alex Oates knows how to write a moving scene, but unfortunately most of them are weighed down by things that tell us more about the parents than Laurence himself. The relentless humour sometimes works – it is understandable that Martin and Tamora would like to look at the situation in a lighter way – but often deflates scenes that have a strong emotional charge. This feels like yet another barrier between us and the heart of the story. It adds to the feeling that this was a great concept for a play that should have been executed better.

I don’t believe that anyone had bad intentions with All in a Row, I just believe that a poor choice was made with regards to representation, which affected the way I experienced this production. At the end of the day, if an autistic character cannot be the most visible and memorable character in a play about autism, then the author’s portrayal was ineffective. Hopefully, this will open up a conversation in which both sides will listen and participate.

 

Reviewed by Harriet Corke

Photography by Nick Rutter

 


All in a Row

Southwark Playhouse until 9th March

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
The Country Wife | ★★★ | April 2018
Confidence | ★★ | May 2018
The Rink | ★★★★ | May 2018
Why is the Sky Blue? | ★★★★★ | May 2018
Wasted | ★★★ | September 2018
The Sweet Science of Bruising | ★★★★ | October 2018
The Trench | ★★★ | October 2018
Seussical The Musical | ★★★★ | November 2018
The Funeral Director | ★★★★★ | November 2018
The Night Before Christmas | ★★★ | November 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

 

Silk Road (How to buy Drugs Online) – 4 Stars

Silk

Silk Road (How to buy Drugs Online)

Trafalgar Studios

Reviewed – 7th August 2018

★★★★

“a rollercoaster of a show packed full of sharp observations and bitingly comic one-liners at every turn of its white-knuckle ride”

 

‘Silk Road’ was the name given to an online black market best known as a platform for selling illegal drugs. As part of the ‘dark web’, users were able to browse it anonymously and securely without traffic monitoring. Shut down by the FBI in 2013, its very existence was a fascinating example of how the internet had evolved to the point of outwitting authority and became the inspiration behind Alex Oates’ exhilarating play.

Now running at Trafalgar Studios, it is easy to agree with the critical acclaim it received during its London premiere at the Vault Festival earlier this year. It is a rollercoaster of a show packed full of sharp observations and bitingly comic one-liners at every turn of its white-knuckle ride.

Bruce is nineteen, unemployed and living with his Nan. He is a struggling young Geordie who desires more from his life. His childhood sweetheart has outgrown him and, lacking any direction, he wanders through the backdoor to get a glimpse of the underworld of the title. The focus, though, is on the real-life characters he meets while he is skulking in the doorway; the writing never takes you right through to the dark side. But that is its strength – we are rooted in the real world of this unlikely hero.

Josh Barrow, as Bruce, ignites the stage from start to finish. Barrow is a ball of energy. With a chameleon physicality he brings the various characters to life: the new-age pirates sailing the web, the gangsters, the hard-shelled yet soft-centred club owners, the amdram musical theatre loving bouncers and, of course, Bruce’s omniscient Nan. Barrow knows how to tell a story and he does total justice to Oates’ razor-edged writing; full of rhythmic alliteration, weaving between rap, conversation and finely tuned impersonation; all with a mixture of tragedy, hilarity, menace and mirth.

It’s not often a description attributed to a one man show, but this is a real team effort. In fact, Oates generously credits, the actor, along with the director Dominic Shaw, for “crafting his wall of text into the living, breathing entity it has become”. These three talents do indeed combine to create a forceful piece of theatre. Running at just an hour long its cyclical nature drops you off where you started. You’re actually ready to walk away, yet simultaneously wanting more. You know that you could quite easily queue up again for another ride down ‘Silk Road’.

 

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Nick Rutter

 


Silk Road (How to buy Drugs Online)

Trafalgar Studios until 1st September

 

Related
Previously reviewed at this venue
Strangers in Between | ★★★★ | January 2018
Good Girl | ★★★★ | March 2018
Two for the Seesaw | ★★ | July 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com