BANGING DENMARK at the Finborough Theatre

★★★

“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.

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

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★★★★

“a lot is packed into this emotionally raw production”

There are two trains of thought about the pandemic. One that it is still too raw to explore in dramatic form; the other that it is old hat, and nobody wants to hear any more about it. But remember it, we all do. James McDermott has distilled those memories into a unique two-hander that follows the breakdown of a relationship, and of society, in tandem. The personal and the panoramic are mirrored effortlessly and it is impossible to remain unaffected by McDermott’s writing.

Anne (Kacey Ainsworth) and Don (Liam Tobin) are approaching their twenty-ninth anniversary, having long reached the comfort zone of the ‘can’t-live-with-you-can’t-live-without-you’ phase. Affection and irritation go blithely hand in hand; one minute dancing uninhibitedly to the Eurythmics ‘Sweet Dreams’, spilling wine and laughter in equal measure; the next bickering with jabs that often pierce uncomfortably deep.

From the order to ‘stay at home’, we follow the pair through the next twelve months. The pandemic itself is initially a backdrop to the minutiae of a marriage, but inevitably it draws in like a rising tide cutting off any escape route. Director Scott Le Crass keeps the actors within this frame of claustrophobia. Like caged animals they pace, sit, stand. Repetitive and functionless. Don at first feels safe. His vintage shop business wasn’t going so well anyway. Anne is twitchier, forced to work from home instead of being on the NHS frontline. She is tired of being the breadwinner, tired of her hot flushes and tired of “non-essential” Don.

“a compelling black comedy”

Although we know that’s not entirely true. Ainsworth is a master performer, eking out the nuances of her layered character. Each word, gesture and expression ring true. Tobin has a similar grasp of realism. They both make the stark shifts of mood believable. We recognise this couple. We are drawn into their individuality, but it is their inter-dependence that has us in an emotional stranglehold right through to – and especially during – the final scenes.

There are many scenes that take us there. Some short, some long, some dark, some light, some wordy, some silent. Jodie Underwood’s lighting slices between them while Adam Langston’s staccato, filmic music stabs at the transitions with Hitchcockian chill. The lights gradually dim in line with the subject matter as the action unfolds, and the comedy ebbs and makes way for the darker hues.

There is an extraordinary attention to detail. Anne’s password, we learn, is ‘cagedbird’. The transition from drinking from a glass to drinking straight from the bottle. Don tearing up his invitation to be vaccinated. The bursts of the optimistic, upbeat Eurythmic music fade into the scenes on certain lyrics: ‘some of them want to abuse you…’, or ‘when depression starts to win…’. These subtleties add poignancy and potency to Ainsworth’s and Tobin’s already powerful performance.

In a little over an hour, a lot is packed into this emotionally raw production. The words crackle with meaning, but so do the silences. “Jab” is a compelling black comedy. I definitely urge you to catch it (words I probably wouldn’t have chosen during the pandemic).

Tag Archives: Leah Kelly

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