Cockpit Theatre Archives - Page 10 of 19

★★★★

“one of the most remarkable acting performances currently in London”

The Last Act of Harry Houdini does exactly what it says on the tin. Before his flight into the arms of death, Harry Houdini recalls his life and career. This simple concept, neatly directed by Ishwar Maharaj and choreographed by Joan Golden, is but an excuse for one of the most remarkable acting performances currently in London.

Written and played by Barry Killerby, Houdini does not shy away from his obsession with death. On the contrary, death becomes motivation for his greatest acts and tricks. He laughs at people waiting for his failure – and ironically, he himself waits for his own failure. Fervently debunking false spiritualists (that is, all spiritualists), he secretly seems to hope that they are right. All that he wants is to have his beloved mother (for he never mentions his father) to communicate with him – to know that there really is something on the other side.

“I would give up all my secrets for one word from my beloved departed” says Houdini. And we believe him – obsessed with death, hidden in darkness of his dressing room, he seems to be a troubled Hungarian Jewish immigrant rather than The Handcuff King. Dressing room, on the other hand, is something much, much bigger – it’s his temple and his witness, and his deathbed (contrary to popular myth, Houdini didn’t die in a water tank, that was fabricated in the 1950s film. His actual cause of death is much less straightforward). Exquisite lighting highlights short clips of his life, though the storyline, admittedly, can get a bit messy at times – here! Mirror challenge (he always accepts every challenge); here! he dances with his wife-to-be (he admits to have a liking for handcuffs and chains); here! suspended straitjacket escape; here! his mother dies; here! he’s buried alive… His best tricks are his worst nightmares, too.

Set design is as simple as it gets – there’s hardly any set at all, just a chair, a table, a chest and a few props – which makes it perfectly functional. Music is simple, too, if a little tacky in the end. To have it more and better, though, would be beside the point – it is, after all, strictly a one-man show.

Self-mortification is a keyword here. Houdini repeatedly self-mortifies himself, in dozens of ways – and Killerby tries to give an answer to why he does it. His Houdini is not merely a thrill-seeker, neither is he hungry for fame. The answer is much more complicated.

Many an actor self-mortify in a tomb of a role that does not measure up to their talent. Barry Killerby had been Mr. Blobby for twenty-three years. It is high time for him to be recognised for who he really is – the Actor, with a capital A.

Reviewed by Dominika Fleszar

Moth Hunting

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed – 26th September 2019

★★★★

“this is an excellent play … performed by three actresses at the top of their game”

It is sometimes difficult to be inspired when you check out theatre listings and find the same old plays. So the promise of a brand new comedy was enough to put a spring in my step as I made my way to The Cockpit theatre.

This is the story of a mother and her two daughters who occasionally go on outings together. They had previously had a spa day, been paintballing and this time, daughter Ann had planned a trip moth hunting in Macclesfield forest. This came as a surprise to her sister Susan, who when she heard they were roughing it, thought that meant an evening at Wetherspoon’s. The forest visit had a little bit of moth hunting, plenty of trivial sibling rivalry, a few revelations falling out of the closet and a nasty injury which resulted in both division and reconciliation.

The set (Greg Spong) was a cleverly projected dense wood image with plenty of dead leaves littered around the stage. The props including a bright blanket, moth catching kit and a variety of bags were pretty much perfect. Sound and lighting were fairly minimal and yet bang on point when required.

This was a perfectly cast play. I absolutely bought the three ladies as a family unit, comfortable in each others company, always willing to tease and yet their love for each other always shining through at times of crisis. Charlotte Baker (Ann) was the most straight-laced of the sisters, her insecurities were nicely observed and the random dance that she performed to ‘Waterloo’ with her sister was a delight. Kathryn McGarr (Susan) had the best of the laughs, her inappropriate clothing and high heels I felt could have been even more outrageous, but her comedy skills were expertly showcased and she at one point, sported the most impressive leg wound that I’ve seen for a long time. Verity Richards (Gill) was just lovely, she didn’t really care what was going on around her, she just loved being with her girls, her comic timing was a real highlight for me. Gareth Turkington (Sid) made up the cast playing Susan’s partner. Trying to get angry with her, he clearly didn’t have a nasty bone in his body and gave a smashing, comedic performance. The director (Rosie Snell) made good use of the space and kept everything moving along at a good pace.

This piece started life as a ten minute sketch at a new writing night and playwright Phil Ball has developed it into a full play. It is consistently funny, favourite scenes for me being Ann’s story about missing her father’s funeral, the plant watering episode and a short scene with an Uber-Eats driver that was just brilliant.

A few cues were missed early on resulting in some laughs being lost and the audience laughter also drowned out some text here and there. But this is an excellent play, much of the script able to be appreciated by a younger audience and performed by three actresses at the top of their game. Lovely to see such an amusing new comedy hitting the theatre, not only that, I learnt plenty of interesting facts about moths into the bargain.

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed – 29th October 2019

★★★★

“one of the most remarkable acting performances currently in London”

Self-mortification is a keyword here. Houdini repeatedly self-mortifies himself, in dozens of ways – and Killerby tries to give an answer to why he does it. His Houdini is not merely a thrill-seeker, neither is he hungry for fame. The answer is much more complicated.

Many an actor self-mortify in a tomb of a role that does not measure up to their talent. Barry Killerby had been Mr. Blobby for twenty-three years. It is high time for him to be recognised for who he really is – the Actor, with a capital A.

Reviewed by Dominika Fleszar

The Last Act of Harry Houdini

Cockpit Theatre until 2nd November

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed – 26th September 2019

★★★★

“this is an excellent play … performed by three actresses at the top of their game”

It is sometimes difficult to be inspired when you check out theatre listings and find the same old plays. So the promise of a brand new comedy was enough to put a spring in my step as I made my way to The Cockpit theatre.

The set (Greg Spong) was a cleverly projected dense wood image with plenty of dead leaves littered around the stage. The props including a bright blanket, moth catching kit and a variety of bags were pretty much perfect. Sound and lighting were fairly minimal and yet bang on point when required.

Reviewed by Chris White

Photography by Rosie Snell

Moth Hunting

Cockpit Theatre until 28th September

Previously reviewed at this venue: