Tag Archives: Golden Goose Theatre

PAST TENTS

★★★

Golden Goose Theatre

Reviews, , , , , ,

PAST TENTS at the Golden Goose Theatre

★★★

“The actors, as writers, producers and performers, are committed and sincere.”

Alan and Justin take a lot of getting used to. Alan, in particular, is a rancid bundle of petty aggression and intolerance.

He literally crashes into a campsite having totalled his car shortly after admitting on the phone to his estranged wife that he’s also ruined his life.

There to greet him is irrepressible Justin, a campsite veteran of six years. With his Hawaiian shirt, endless optimism, cheer-up-mate schtick and his (unseen) family Justin is set for life.

Alan takes out his bad day on the indefatigable Justin (a versatile David J Keogh) whose relentless cheer begins to grate with the same nails-on-chalkboard efficiency as Alan’s shouty malice.

It is close to unbearable for much of the first half hour. The production comes at you like a pub drunk: loud, aggressive and unbalanced. The sub Carry On innuendoes and gross-out indulgences are relentless. (Seth Jones, as Alan, has a remarkable repertoire of gag reflexes and he plays them like a virtuoso.)

However, it settles. Be assured. The production finds a rhythm and a purpose. The campsite is many things, not least of which is a bleak circus where men become clowns and fall from grace into buckets of goo. And, with that in mind, the drama begins to take shape.

While Justin remains disturbingly cheery, newbie Alan must endure degradations beyond the measure of men in order to be reduced to his core. Hyper-active Jones, also the director, shows an unending capacity to manufacture his own discomforts. Hats off to him.

Also, a special mention for Mark Keegan as Virgil, a kind of camp commandant, with a natty line in off-colour banter. He shows a deft touch that allows the comedy to breathe.

The script is not embarrassed about revealing its secrets either. Spoilers litter the campsite like autumn leaves. At one point Alan cites a Hollywood actor whose mere mention prefigures an upcoming twist of an emotional subplot. No worries – we were all thinking it – but we’re just a little shocked he gave the game away with no obvious benefit.

But what we have beneath this endless bickering is an earnest attempt to examine the capacity of men to go to any lengths to avoid talking about their mental health.

Even as far as camping in the rain.

In that context, Justin and Alan are made for each other. In one plausible interpretation, the campsite is a depressed man’s mind – all denial, self-loathing, humiliations and anguish. No wonder the writers – Keogh and Jones themselves – keep the trousers dropping and the slapstick sticky.

Because when the truth comes, bespeckled though it may be with bodily fluids, it does hit home. The grand reveal is neat, satisfying and, if not shocking – the script having given up the goods too early – then certainly played for a pathos that works.

This is a public health advisory of sorts, albeit one presented on a stage dressed with an elephantine amount of sheep dung. Maybe don’t bring your granny – but do bring your dad.

The actors, as writers, producers and performers, are committed and sincere. They give a lot in energetic performances that are worthy of applause.

This is an evening with a grand appetite, a big heart and an important mission. It might even save a life. Beat that.


PAST TENTS at the Golden Goose Theatre

Reviewed on 3rd October 2024

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Maria Kennedy

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

JOCK | ★★½ | June 2024
STREET SONGS: A BUSKER’S TALE | ★★★★ | April 2024
WHAT I REALLY THINK OF MY HUSBAND | ★★★ | November 2023
STRANGERS IN BETWEEN | ★★★★ | September 2023

PAST TENTS

PAST TENTS

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

 

JOCK

★★½

Golden Goose Theatre

Reviews, , , , ,

JOCK at the Golden Goose Theatre

★★½

“an interesting, if imperfect, examination of predatory twenty-first century masculinity held together by a strong performance”

Written and performed by Charlie Howard, Jock is an autobiographical piece recounting his experiences as a young student attempting to gain access into the hyper-masculine in-group of the university’s rugby team. The play explores the process by which some young men are attracted to binge drinking and misogynistic attitudes by the promise of becoming part of something bigger than themselves and fitting in with men who have seen and done this all before them.

Jock explores the protagonist’s journey from naïve initiate to seasoned group member passing a number of steps towards acceptance, including drinking challenges, casual sexual encounters, and humiliating rituals, eventually repeating the same patterns of cruelty on others that he had experienced himself, before a moment of shock leads to an emotional and medical crossroads. The move from naïveté to jaded experience represents growth for the character and the audience is brought along, although the autobiographical nature of the source material precludes the kind of truly shocking event that could act as a stronger transformational volta in a critique of toxic masculinity, beyond the aforementioned health issue, which is signposted at the outset of the play and does not immediately modify the protagonist’s behaviour.

Using a minimalist set of a bar, bar stool, some tables in the audience, and different lighting choices, the play revolves around Howard’s performance, which is very compelling. He inhabits characters beyond the protagonist, including an aloof doctor, various friends, and most memorably, an older ‘ugly man’ that encourages the hedonistic revelry of alcohol and sex, portrayed as a hunched caricature of neanderthal manhood. Each of these personas is brought vividly to life and moments of introspection or drunkenness for the protagonist are well performed, with each character believable.

With Ramiro Batista’s direction ensuring that Howard engages the entire room, his monologue is expressive and the interplay with the audience pushes against the boundaries of a one-man show. Audience members on tables in front of the stage – presumably the performer’s friends – are impelled to interact, they don fancy dress, do tequila shots, or assist in Howard chugging milk through a funnel. This natural interplay, which appeared partially improvised, provided genuinely funny moments that were exceptionally well received by the audience, the majority of whom seemed to know Howard.

However, as a result of this shared background between writer-actor and audience, at times Jock felt like being at a class reunion for a university you hadn’t attended, or a best man speech at a wedding of someone you don’t know. Many of the characters elicited uproarious responses from the audience, which I assume is due to the fact they were identifiable people, and there are jokes that we did not have the context to fully understand. Nevertheless, in his interactions with the audience, Howard’s charisma and charm is most clearly demonstrated, teasing performances out of his friends and improving the material as a result. It would be interesting to see this performance with a different audience to make a clearer assessment of the quality of the work, without the feeling that we were missing part of the joke.

Jock is an interesting, if imperfect, examination of predatory twenty-first century masculinity held together by a strong performance. It is at times very funny, capitalising on Howard’s skill as an actor, and the personal insights into the cyclical nature of abuse within sports teams are worthy but perhaps lack the depth to be truly profound.

 


JOCK at the Golden Goose Theatre

Reviewed on 20th June 2024

by Rob Tomlinson

 


 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

STREET SONGS: A BUSKER’S TALE | ★★★★ | April 2024
WHAT I REALLY THINK OF MY HUSBAND | ★★★ | November 2023
STRANGERS IN BETWEEN | ★★★★ | September 2023

JOCK

JOCK

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page