“a hugely enjoyable 67 minutes of comedy, farce and randomness”
The title of this play “Out there on Fried Meat Ridge Road” indicates the level of randomness that you are about to watch in this play written by Keith Stevenson.
Entering the theatre you instantly feel part of the play thanks to a brilliant set by Simon Scullion who has created the feel of a rundown West Virginia motel room perfectly. The set engulfs the auditorium and you feel as if you are in the motel room with the characters.
The play centers around a highly uptight and anxiety ridden Mitch (Robert Moloney) who is having a bad day – no make that year! Moving from Maine to West Virginia for a new start life quickly things go wrong – he loses his job, girl friend, car and home all in quick succession. In desperation he answers an ad for a flat share with JD.
JD (Keith Stevenson) dominates the stage not just due to his physical size but with his presence and personality. He is a simple, kind man who has the ability to see the good in everyone. As each character enters the stage he looks further than their stereotype and shows the audience that there is more to the crazy crack head Marlene (Melanie Gray), the adulterous Tommy (Alex Ferns) and the racist and bigoted Flip (Michael Wade).
The play is an enjoyable 67 minutes of comedy, farce and randomness. Some of the jokes and one liners are predictable but amusing all the same. The acting is high quality – they portray their characters well and give them a depth that makes you believe in their stories from the moment they set foot on stage. The ability of JD to make you see through the stereotypes and his generous, kind-hearted nature make you want to walk out and spread some love to the first stranger you encounter.
Leaving wanting to watch the next installment of the story makes you think that this would be better suited to a TV show rather than a stage play. At times I could imagine the canned laughter piped into the set!
Overall a heartwarming play that has you chuckling your way through the 67 minutes. It is a play perfectly suited to a small intimate venue allowing the audience to absorb themselves in the show.
“Moments of madness revealing hidden hillbilly humour”
Out There on Fried Meat Ridge Road written by (and starring) Keith Stevenson, was first produced in California around four years ago. Since then it has developed something of a cult status and spawned two sequels, A Fried Meat Christmas and The Unfryable Meatness of Being with a fourth installment due.
The play focuses on JD (Keith Stevenson), a curious character with a big heart. JD lives in a sleazy run down motel in West Virginia; spending his time drinking Mountain Dew with vodka whilst helping out with odd jobs in lieu of paying rent (such as retrieving a sanitary towel from an 87 year old lady’s toilet).
The White Bear Theatre is transformed into JD’s insalubrious room. This is captured perfectly, right down to the dubious stains on the carpet. With the theatre layout as it is, the audience are seated as if they were in the room, which brings you nicely into the action.
Knocking at his door, JD finds Mitch (Robert Moloney), a sweaty palmed, out of work spork salesman in search of a room. The motel’s bigoted owner Flip (Michael Wade) soon drops in as do crazy fellow resident couple Tommy and Marlene (Dan Hildebrand & Melanie Gray).
What ensues is an hour of mayhem involving tuna fish sandwiches, a 500 pound (unseen) lady friend of Mitch inadvertently causing the razing of a gazebo, a police shoot out and an apparent miracle.
The roles of JD and Mitch are well acted, with Melanie Gray giving a scarily realistic performance as troubled addict, Marlene.
It’s easy to see why there is a cult following behind this. The characters are mainly likeable and the humour is bold and brash. However, for such a short play, there seemed to be too many characters to get to know any of them in real depth. The character Tommy seemed unconvincing at best and Flip could have been dispensed with completely.
There are some clever lines, with moments of madness revealing hidden hillbilly humour, but it’s not a massive laugh out loud piece. It does pick up in the last twenty minutes or so when the laughs get more and more and the action more watchable.
Pleasant enough to spend an hour watching but doesn’t engage enough to make you want to see more. It does however, have possibly the weirdest play title ever!
Photography – Gavin Watson
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