★★★★

“slick in all the right ways”

Keelan Kember’s new play, set in the corrupt (and bizarre) world of high art, is a witty and playful piece of theatre.

Christopher (Kember) and his colleague Milly (Arsema Thomas) work together at a fictional art house (Beauchamps) They are tasked with selling a genuine Leonardo Da Vinci. Except it’s not a genuine Leonardo Da Vinci. And their clients are both obscenely wealthy and obscenely trigger-happy. Bit of an eek.

Kember’s script is characteristically witty, with Kember himself – still confusingly endearing – leading the charge. Directed by Merle Wheldon, the whole piece is compelling and compact, even for the majority of us plebs who knows nothing about the art world. John Albasiny as Boris, the Russian oligarch who has made his fortune in *cough* aluminium (with a sprinkling of cadavers along the way) is excellent. Though tiny in stature, he’s pretty terrifying, and commands the stage completely. As the Prince, Fayez Bakhsh is also an excellent addition, horrifying in his own spoilt, childish way.

The set design (Eleanor Wintour) deserves its own paragraph. It is the perfect complement to the premise: the glossy, white minimalism is visually satisfying, but it also works in a fascinating conceptual dichotomy with the ostentation and conspicuous capitalistic world the play centralises (the method for transitions is also excellent). Good stuff.

There are some tonal inconsistencies in the characterisations which are a little jarring. The acting varies from the pantomimic to the minimalist, which can, a times, be whiplash-y. Steve Zissis as Tony, the epitome of a free-market capitalist and Republican is certainly very watchable, if a little implausible. He is funny, but again, a little pantomime-esque, which is sometimes at odds with the play’s overall vibe. And perhaps the barrage of jokes at the expense of Americans and the differences between them and the British are a little over-wrought.

The strength of Kember’s script lies largely in the delightful repartee and gentle sardonicism, which he, as an actor, exemplifies. The one scene without him actually stands out as a little extraneous, though this could be because of the somewhat contrived romantic sub-plot. But these are small points.

‘Da Vinci’s Laundry’ is slick in all the right ways. Above all else, it is entertaining – which is not a given in the current theatrical landscape – and very amusing. It’s tight, it’s clever, it’s genuinely funny.

THE POLTERGEIST

Arcola Theatre

★★★★★

“Davison’s performance is a tour-de-force”

The Poltergeist, by award-winning playwright Philip Ridley, is an extraordinary piece of storytelling which will haunt you long after you leave the theatre. Strap yourself in for this is a rollercoaster of a ride. Lone actor, Louis Davison, plays all the characters, including the protagonist Sasha – a former art world prodigy – at breakneck speed.

In the world of the play, Sasha has fallen from his former artistic fame and glory and now shares a flat with his boyfriend Chet in the East End of London. It is here that he battles addiction, paranoia and navigates dysfunctional family dynamics. Having been something of a one-hit wonder as a teenager, he is now tortured by an agonising sense of artistic failure. But is any of this truly justified in a surface level, social media-driven, celebrity obsessed art world? The mercenary, superficial nature of modern-day art culture is exposed to great comic effect in the scene where Davison continually switches between playing Sasha and a female American art dealer/promoter out on the prowl for artistic young blood to help line her own pocket.

Davison’s performance is a tour-de-force. The vocal and physical speed, energy and vigour with which he shifts between six different characters, is a feat to behold. The fine craft of an actor at the height of his game is on full display here. Much credit too must go to the director, Wiebke Green. The general tempo of this piece may feel unrelentingly fast – perhaps too much for some – but this is something that is clearly reflected in the ‘in-yer-face’ nature of the script and the rhythm of the writing. Green does not shy away from doing it justice and ramps it up to the ninth degree (there are few dramatic pauses or silences in this work); this helps to charge the juxtaposed slower paced, more tender later scenes in the play with even more emotional resonance. Also, the creative decision to completely strip back and do without any set or props works well and makes for a more raw and powerful audience experience.

Social conventions and etiquette are frequently juxtaposed with Sasha’s dark sense of wit and his deeper search for honesty and truth. Of his niece’s birthday party, Sasha wittily says, ‘This is where Hieronymus Bosh meets the Barbie doll.’ Ironically, it is at his niece’s birthday party where Sasha eventually experiences an emotional healing of sorts at the end of his long and tortuous journey. ‘The surface is waterlilies but underneath it’s all sharks and formaldehyde’ is another stand out line in this play. Clearly this is an artistic reference to Monet and Damien Hirst but it’s also a metaphor for the disturbing truths that lie underneath a façade of superficial, social niceties in many families.

This is a play about memories and the haunting nature of past choices. But at its emotional core, it is a play about grief. Ridley’s trademark darkly comic tone is evident through much of the storytelling but as the narrative propels us towards the final scenes, there is a note-perfect beautiful tenderness that is haunting in and of itself.

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

Riverside Studios

★★★★

“slick in all the right ways”

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

Riverside Studios

Reviewed on 8th October 2025

by Violet Howson

Photography by Teddy Cavendish

Previously reviewed at this venue:

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

THE POLTERGEIST

Arcola Theatre

★★★★★

“Davison’s performance is a tour-de-force”

THE POLTERGEIST

Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 23rd September 2025

by Tim Graves

Photography by Simon Annand

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE POLTERGEIST

THE POLTERGEIST

THE POLTERGEIST

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