Martha, Josie And The Chinese Elvis
Park Theatre
Reviewed – 13th December 2019
★★★★★
“pretty darn perfect; hilarious and surprisingly moving, performed by a cast at the top of their game”
Well, that was a treat! Definitely the best thing I could have done to dispel my election result blues was to go and see this gem of a play. This year is the twenty-first anniversary of the play’s first production, which won it the Pearson Best Play Award for playwright Charlotte Jones. Jones’ best known play is ‘Humble Boy’, and ‘Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis’ shows the same genius for comedy, and the same humanity and understanding of family dynamics. This production, directed by Robert Wolstenholme, is pretty darn perfect; hilarious and surprisingly moving, performed by a cast at the top of their game.
Josie, beautifully played by Kellie Batchelor, is a bored dominatrix, not excited to be turning forty. Batchelor’s Josie in immediately likeable, matter of fact and funny; not what you would probably imagine a dominatrix to be, she can’t even be bothered to dress up any more. Lionel, a regular client who has become a friend, decides to throw her a birthday party that she doesn’t want. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty, it turns out! Lionel has taken on quite a task, and Andrew P Stephen, after a laugh out loud appearance as Josie’s client, is charming as he attempts to make everyone have a good night, topping up glasses with his ‘catastrophe’ cocktail mix and determinedly trying to make the evening fun. Josie’s dreamer of a daughter, Charlie Bence’s Brenda-Marie knows she has learning difficulties and has built a fantasy version of herself as an ice-skating champion. She has some great interjections and Bence keeps the warm heart of the play beating, even while everyone is falling apart. Martha is the cleaner, a good Irish catholic with numerical OCD. Sioned Jones is splendid in the role, cleaning, counting, worrying and disapproving, and always very, very funny. The Chinese Elvis of the title turns out to be Timothy, Vietnamese, and very new to the Elvis business. He has been hired by Lionel to entertain Josie, a huge Elvis fan, at her party. But finds himself in the middle of a bizarre family drama that includes the appearance of an unexpected visitor. I don’t want to give the game away, so I will just say that Jessica Forrest plays the surprise arrival with honesty and feeling, bringing in the darker moments of the play. Timothy is played by Matt Lim, and he is a sweet Elvis, posturing, not knowing the words and trying gamely to do his job in the midst of utter chaos.
I loved this play, with its lightning repartee and belly laughs, its compassion and wit. The cast don’t put a foot wrong; it’s tight and zippy, gentle and fierce. Brilliant. The audience loved it. There were moments of spontaneous applause during the action and a standing ovation at the end. Highly recommended!
Reviewed by Katre
Photography by Lidia Crisafulli
Martha, Josie And The Chinese Elvis
Park Theatre until 4th January
Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Napoli, Brooklyn | ★★★★ | June 2019
Summer Rolls | ★★★½ | June 2019
The Time Of Our Lies | ★★★★ | August 2019
The Weatherman | ★★★ | August 2019
Black Chiffon | ★★★★ | September 2019
Mother Of Him | ★★★★★ | September 2019
Fast | ★★★★ | October 2019
Stray Dogs | ★ | November 2019
Sydney & The Old Girl | ★★★★ | November 2019
The Snow Queen | ★★★★ | December 2019
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