Man-Cub is a visceral, animalistic masterclass. Devised by a cast of nine, directed and conceived by RADA’s Alistair Wilkinson, the hour-long physical ensemble piece retells and reworks the story of the Jungle Book, against the pulsing bass of a nightclub dance-floor.
The show begins as any night out at a London club, with a brief pat-down and the turning away of those who look a little too green to enter the lions’ den. But as the night unfurls, innocence and consent become increasingly blurred, and we are led into a world where everything is fair game and the law of the jungle reigns.
Through a spectacular feast of physical theatre, we follow the man-cubs first deep-dive into a world fuelled by physicality and narcotics, twisted and distorted by the figures of the night; the caring mother, the excluded down-and-out, the seductress and finally the predator.
Alex Britt is sublimely cast as our rosy-cheeked young protagonist. In a piece where the story is largely told visually and physically, rather than verbally, Britt’s expression and intensity is truly magnetic, drawing the audience to his exposed vulnerability amidst the chaos of the dancefloor.
Every cast member has their moment, beautifully showcasing the clear talent of the ensemble cast; without exception, performances are outstanding, with particular note to Lizzie Manwaring and Callum Tilling, who steal the show with the instinctual animality of their physical performances.
The piece itself is a testament to the potential of Wilkinson and his cast; truly visually breath-taking, the narrative is sometimes lost to the feeling of the piece, overtaken by the intense staccato movement and atmosphere and the audience are left questioning what it all means. With some streamlining and clarification, explicitly distinguishing and exploring each character, this piece could do excellently well with a fringe audience, and I am incredibly excited to see where Man-Cub, and its stunning cast, will be taking us in future.
Boy’s Club was a cocktail of intelligent comedy and silliness with a fruity twist of socio-politics that stirred this chaotic performance.
This play is about two unemployed actresses who pass for men in order to get work. Together, they host the male cabaret ‘Boys Club’ and deliver a testosterone-fuelled routine of dances and macho jokes… until a bloody accident forces them to rethink their options.
Boys Club tackled in an entertaining way the political and economic situation of female performers. Sharlit Deyzac and Leonor Lemée who both devised and performed in this show gave a pretty good performance. They have the beginnings of what could be a fantastic production. The elements to making this production even better are all there but it was a shame to see the few golden opportunities missed as this piece could have further penetrated the multi-faceted themes they began exploring.
Whilst I was often left laughing at the silly routines or the awkwardly bad pickup lines there were parts of the show that dragged (and not in a good way). The ideas and themes behind the choices made in this production I enjoyed. My mind was stimulated and for the best part of the show I always was able to watch and engage with the act.
Although, the messy nature of this piece was excusable; the lack of character development was not. The way this piece is worked there are three distinctive characters that the audience should have got to know: the male cabaret actors, the female cabaret actresses performing and then them out of role when they find they are being under paid.
As the latter female characters the lack of slickness in the performance again let down what the piece was discussing. These characters tell us how there aren’t enough female roles in the theatre but their level of performance wasn’t different as to when they were drag kinging. At parts I even began preferring them as drag kings.
As the characters all merged into one character it didn’t leave the impact these artists intended. These characters needed to be better defined and thus then they would be able to deconstruct the act of performing adding to the political point made within this piece.
Whilst Boy’s Club showed promise; it was overall a flaccid production.
