★★★

“the story is well paced and refreshing in its levity”

Banging Denmark is rom-com about a pick up artist who asks a feminist sociologist for help in seducing a Danish woman and hijinks ensue. Written by Van Badham, the piece is a light hearted look at the feminist debates going on in the modern dating scene. The play’s dialogue leans towards timeless rather than topical, but includes some brilliant lines and delivery from the cast.

The stage is set with Jake (Tom Kay) leading a radio show and receiving calls from disgruntled men (James Jip) who spew bile and resentment about women. Jake blasts crude sound effects and bad advice surrounded by pizza boxes and the stench of loneliness. He is enamoured with Anne (Maja Simonsen), an ethereal Danish woman who works at the library. Jake is desperate to connect with her after a failed introduction. We meet Ishtar Madigan (Rebecca Blackstone), a hard-done by sociology PhD student living in her office, supported by Denyse (Jodie Tyack), a computer scientist and ‘nice guy’ Toby (James Jip). Despite their differences, Jake and Ishtar mirror each other in their respective squalor, with Anne’s clean library booth sitting centre stage, connecting and dividing their lives (Set designed by Katy Mo and Leah Kelly). The group become entangled in each other’s lives as we watch them pick at their values and opinions instigated by Anne, or more accurately; their assumptions of Anne.

Aside from being relatively predictable, the story is well paced and refreshing in its levity. Anne breaks the fourth wall in a joyous fashion and the show doesn’t take itself too seriously. Jake and Ishtar both hold strong beliefs about what people want from sex whilst hypocrisy and nuance carry on around them. Anne is a surprising character, Simonsen shows layers of personality whilst representing the gold standard of an empowered woman, having been raised in ‘the best country in the world to be a woman’. Directed by Sally Woodcock, the show makes clever use of the intimate space in the Finborough and brings out the rom-com themes of the piece. Kay and Blackstone centre the events with engaging arguments, volleying insults and observations with great chemistry between the two enemies. Jip portrays Toby as a wise voice of reason pining after endearing and plucky Denyse. Jokes are squeezed for their laughs and sometimes fall flat, however there are many triumphs and fun to be had from this production.

Its premise is entertaining and contemporary, but its execution is inherently a bit old-school with “the more things change, the more they stay the same” attitude coming from its story and resolution. It exists in a heightened realm of possibility in which a misogynist broadcaster would actually reach out to a sociologist for help, and that online abuse generated by someone like Jake would really render an academic homeless. There are attempts at delving into ‘gaming’ and the ‘internet’ but these topics feel underbaked, especially in 2023 (Twitter is called ‘X’ now!). The character study of Jake felt inherently more kind then these men appear in real life, and Ishtar seemed very persecuted for a sociology post-grad in UCL. These factors make for a good comedy, but perhaps not the most grounded story. The ending is a delightfully happy one brimming with optimism…probably because the play was written before the advent of Andrew Tate and a new wave of much more vile rhetoric. If only we could go back to the days of laughing at cringy sound bites and complaining about video games. Banging Denmark is a quippy dissection of feminism in modern dating dressed up in a well-crafted rom-com that occasionally struggles to be current.

FOAM at the Finborough Theatre

★★★★

“The execution of the story is fascinating and the reflection on the punk and queer scene of the time is illuminating”

Foam is a biographical story about a gay neo-Nazi from 1974 to 1993. We follow his life through a series of conversations with other gay men, all taking place in a public toilet from the day he shaves his head to… the final bathroom. The show depicts racially sensitive subject matter, homophobia and violence (Jess Tucker Boyd as fight director). Some of the conversations are up for interpretation with regards to the takeaway message.

The audience enter to the sounds of a dripping echoey lavatory (David Segun Olowu). The room is plunged into darkness as startling punk music clangs around the intimate Finborough Theatre, with the audience sat on three sides. Lights up on Nicky with shaving foam on his head. Written by Harry McDonald and directed by Mathew Lliffe, Foam is an intense, cerebral and provocative examination of the dichotomous person that was Nicky Crane. The conversations are wide ranging; confrontational, sexually charged and also humorous as Nicky tries to connect with other queer men through the changing eras of the punk and gay clubbing scene.

The set is evocative and timeless with its industrial white tiled walls, blurry mirrors and fixtures of a public convenience (Nitin Parmar). It is lit with atmospheric colours and makes use of the glazed windows above and light seeping through the centre stage cubical. Colours creep into scenes slowly, before you notice the ‘rosey tint’ of Nicky’s memories (Jonathan Chan).

“Walker multi-roles these characters with tension and levity opposite Richards who is terrifying and desperate

McDonald takes artistic license as Nicky Crane (Jake Richards) meets Mosely (Matthew Baldwin), fascism incarnate, who seduces Nicky in more ways than one. Baldwin is electric and commanding whilst Richards is an unsure but intrigued teenager. Whilst gripping and absorbing, the blurring of homosexual awakening and right-wing radicalisation could be considered an unfair comparison, but others may read into the scene differently. Later on, we meet characters who seem attracted to Nicky’s ‘look’ in the form of Gabriel and Christopher (Kishore Walker) who display a nonchalant attitude to his skinhead identity. The play presents affronting examination of LGBTQ individuals who tolerate and entertain the hypocrisy of Nicky, even liking what he represents. Nicky can only exist as a Nazi if there are other gay people who choose to ignore or fetishise his tattoos and worldview. Walker multi-roles these characters with tension and levity opposite Richards who is terrifying and desperate.

A scene that provokes interrogation is that of Bird (Keanu Adolphus Johnson), a black gay man who Nicky corners in a club bathroom. The two men discuss Nicky’s crimes, which were unmentioned until this point, his targets including a nine year old. This is the only time Nicky and the audience is confronted with an overt rejection of right wing extremism and the impact of his crimes on victims, which bares noting. Johnson presents Bird as strong and secure in his queerness and in his rejection of Nicky in a powerful argument. The bravery of Bird is admirable, but potentially defangs the stakes of what Nicky represents. The final scene brings back Baldwin as Craig, a kind loving figure, starkly different to Mosely.

Foam tackles Crane’s life with depth and precision. In a story about neo-Nazis and hypocrisy, there was less focus on the consequences of his hate crimes and more on his strange double life and the people that populated it. The execution of the story is fascinating and the reflection on the punk and queer scene of the time is illuminating. The cast were superb and transfixing under Lliffe’s direction. Nicky Crane was a real man who committed hate crimes. There remains some discussion to be had about what the show was trying to say, and who got to say it. But It is clear that the play definitely invites these important conversations.

Tag Archives: Finborough Theatre

BANGING DENMARK

★★★

Finborough Theatre

BANGING DENMARK at the Finborough Theatre

★★★

“the story is well paced and refreshing in its levity”

BANGING DENMARK at the Finborough Theatre

Reviewed on 19th April 2024

by Jessica Potts

Photography by Ali Wright

Previously reviewed at this venue:

FOAM | ★★★★ | April 2024

JAB | ★★★★ | February 2024

THE WIND AND THE RAIN | ★★★ | July 2023

SALT-WATER MOON | ★★★★ | January 2023

PENNYROYAL | ★★★★ | July 2022

THE STRAW CHAIR | ★★★ | April 2022

THE SUGAR HOUSE | ★★★★ | November 2021

BANGING DENMARK

BANGING DENMARK

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

FOAM

★★★★

Finborough Theatre

FOAM at the Finborough Theatre

★★★★

“The execution of the story is fascinating and the reflection on the punk and queer scene of the time is illuminating”

“Walker multi-roles these characters with tension and levity opposite Richards who is terrifying and desperate