[ TITLE OF SHOW ] at Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★★

“you have to hand it to the four performers – they know how to deliver. All of them have solid pipes and their whip crack dialogue rattles along at pace”

It’s cold and wet in Southwark. If your idea of an autumnal pick-me-up is to watch four perky Americans sing a running commentary about themselves for 90 minutes, you’re in for a treat.

If you’re looking to bury yourself further into your damp irritation, you can attend the same show and find validating levels of pique.

It’s that kind of show. Often at the same time.

The title of [Title of Show] comes from the entry form for the New York Musical Festival. Clueless about what to enter, aspiring writers and performers Hunter and Jeff decide to turn their mundane blather into the product. What we’re watching is the creative process as both the creative process and the result of the creative process. Meta on steroids.

“We could put this exact conversation in the show,” says Hunter after a particularly moribund exchange. But “would other people want to watch something like that?”

We’ll see.

The problem is apparent straight away. The creative process, even fictionalised, is notoriously indulgent. You end up with songs about writing songs about writing songs. Russian dolls with nothing at the centre.

[Title of Show] – directed by Christopher D Clegg, with musical direction by Tom Chippendale – is utterly obsessed by the mechanics of its own creation. The conceit throws up some genuinely witty moments and clever-clever theatrical in-jokes but has the feel of a student end-of-year showcase aimed at a knowing audience.

When the two women, Heidi and Susan, are left alone for the first time after the two main characters go off stage to do some business, they have nothing to offer except a song about two women being left alone for the first time while the two main characters go off stage to do some business.

It’s like that all the way through. Clever but without purpose.

You’re never left alone to enjoy a moment without the nature of the moment being retold as a rhyme. To be fair, the script does frequently question whether this is one huge mistake.

However, you have to hand it to the four performers – they know how to deliver. All of them have solid pipes and their whip crack dialogue rattles along at pace.

Jacob Fowler (Hunter), Abbie Budden (Heidi), Mary Moore (Susan) and Thomas Oxley (Jeff) have sumptuous voices, great range, and an endearing jazz hands energy.

Maybe this is a British thing, but the upbeat can-do fame school exuberance is the worst of it. After the festival and a taste of off-Broadway, they return to ordinary life and something more interesting happens. They struggle. They pout. They bicker.

Suddenly, these varnished mannequins acquire a second dimension. Some of their singing becomes heartfelt, some of their plights seem grounded. The irksome sweetness becomes something more savoury, perhaps even bitter.

But if that also is too affected, you could slot your grouch into the umbrella stand, turn off your head and just enjoy the songs. There’s a bunch of styles, some swish choreography, some deft solos and arrangements. Many of the songs individually are exceptional, the lyrics clever and often catchy. The sentiment is wholesome, the energy lively, and you can admire their (fictional) pluck and (actual) craft.

There’s a number which has the (clunky) line “I’d rather be nine people’s favourite thing than a hundred people’s ninth favourite thing”. That captures the ambivalence, and maybe even courage, of this production.

[Title of Show] is about overthinking something to the point where the enjoyment fades. My bad.

[ TITLE OF SHOW ] at Southwark Playhouse Borough

Reviewed on 18th November 2024

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Danny Kaan

Previously reviewed at Southwark Playhouse venues:

THE UNGODLY | ★★★ | October 2024

FOREVERLAND | ★★★★ | October 2024

JULIUS CAESAR | ★★★ | September 2024

DORIAN: THE MUSICAL | ★★½ | July 2024

THE BLEEDING TREE | ★★★★ | June 2024

FUN AT THE BEACH ROMP-BOMP-A-LOMP!! | ★★★ | May 2024

MAY 35th | ★★★½ | May 2024

SAPPHO | ★★ | May 2024

CAPTAIN AMAZING | ★★★★★ | May 2024

WHY I STUCK A FLARE UP MY ARSE FOR ENGLAND | ★★★★★ | April 2024

[TITLE OF SHOW]

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★★★

“The performances were a pleasure to watch; each actor showing great nuance and detail in their characterisation”

Ins Choi’s ‘Kim’s Convenience’ returns to London this month at Riverside Studios, with Choi reprising his lead role of Appa. A play that has seen vast success over the years, including a five season television series, following its original performance at Toronto Fringe Festival in 2011. The sitcom feel to the show is strong in this iteration, however, I fear it lets the material itself down.

Appa runs his store ‘Kim’s Convenience’ under seemingly peaceful circumstances, until one day a local corporate businessman offers to buy it – following the announcement of a new Walmart to be built in the area. This man inspires him to come to the decision he wants to retire. The play then follows Appa’s quest to convince one of his unsatisfied children to take over the store.

One of the greatest highlights of this show is the design. Mona Camille provides the audience with an incredibly realistic set of a convenience store – including bright and colourful details of various products on sale including many Korean and Canadian snacks. The lighting (Jonathan Chan) also reflects the just a little bit too bright environment very familiar among retail establishments. The performances were a pleasure to watch; each actor showing great nuance and detail in their characterisation. Miles Mitchell deserves particular praise for his excellence in multi-roling (Rich, Mr Lee, Mike, Alex), with an eclectic mix of accents and personas on display. Choi has a clear and colourful understanding of the character he has written and welcomes the audience beautifully into Appa’s world throughout.

Where the play falls flat is in its lack of character development and the deus ex machina conclusion. The audience is told that Appa’s son Jung (Edward Wu) is basically estranged from the family, except from occasionally seeing his mother Umma (Namju Go) at Church. Their lack of relationship is said to be due to previous abuse. When given this context I was quite shocked, as all previous examples of physical manhandling (arguably assault) are played off as a joke. Suddenly, the show darkened for me at that point. Jung and Appa do rekindle their relationship – yet this is done in the space of about five minutes, and Appa doesn’t really do any work to apologise to, or heal with his son.

Appa also displays a lot of mistreatment towards his underappreciated daughter Janet (Jennifer Kim). This being a combination of patronising her, dismissing her career and her relationship status and throwing props at her. All is resolved, however, when Janet gets a boyfriend! I understand that Appa is meant to be a flawed character and the story isn’t trying to be groundbreaking in it’s dysfunctional family narrative, but it just feels like too many flaws to overlook as just the loving father who we love in spite of everything. Because his love is seemingly dependent on his children submitting to his will. The comedy that comes from this is continuous throughout the show yet I must say not particularly to my taste.

The show ‘Kevin Can F*** Himself’ comes to mind with this play. The classic loveable rogue father leads the plot, yet at the expense of the other characters playing along with his narrative. Overall making the play feel rather dated and out of touch.

[ TITLE OF SHOW ] at Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★★

“you have to hand it to the four performers – they know how to deliver. All of them have solid pipes and their whip crack dialogue rattles along at pace”

[ TITLE OF SHOW ] at Southwark Playhouse Borough

Reviewed on 18th November 2024

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Danny Kaan

Previously reviewed at Southwark Playhouse venues:

[TITLE OF SHOW]

[TITLE OF SHOW]

KIM’S CONVENIENCE at Riverside Studios

★★★

“The performances were a pleasure to watch; each actor showing great nuance and detail in their characterisation”

KIM’S CONVENIENCE at Riverside Studios

Reviewed on 11th September 2024

by David Robinson

Photography by Danny Kaan

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Kim’s Convenience

Kim’s Convenience