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A Funny Thing Happened – 4 Stars

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Oncology

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit …

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed – 4th October 2018

★★★★

“opens up the walls of free speech to challenge our notions of offence”

 

“I’ve been single so long? I’ve started having sexual fantasies about my vibrator.” At odds with the sombre hospital ward setting, this opening line of the European premiere of Halley Feiffer’s script sets the tone for piece determined to find comedy in life’s darkest moments. Spunky and spirited Karla (Cariad Lloyd) is trying out some new “bits” for her mother (‘Marcie’, played by Kristin Milward), bedbound by her cancer treatment. On the other side of the curtain, unassuming forty-something Don (Rob Crouch) arrives to visit his mother (Cara Chase). What starts out as offence turns into friendship, and over the course of the play, the relationship between this mismatched couple deepens as the tragedy that underpins the reasons for their connection grows ever more present. Family is at the heart of this touching and witty play, and this production offers genuine laugh-out-loud moments – often at the expense of others – gently mixed with tender and nuanced moments of introspection and revelation.

What’s so glorious about the comedy on display is how fresh it seems. Shifting from the off into the murky realm between ‘funny’ and ‘offensive’, “A Funny Thing…” invites the audience to admit no topic is off-limits. Are only certain groups of people allowed to make certain jokes? Is, as Karla declares, there “anything funnier than rape”? This audience in particular seemed to enjoy gasping and laughing in unison, and, especially by giving this shocking and foul-mouthed voice to a female comedian character, opens up the walls of free speech to challenge our notions of offence (something Ricky Gervais has spent many years trying to do).

The performances on display are exceptional, showing an acute awareness of comic timing whilst still producing believable and relatable characters on stage. Cariad Lloyd flows with natural energy and it utterly compelling, whilst Rob Crouch, although seeming sometimes too heightened in comparison to Lloyd, embodies the everyman battered down by the pains and disappointments of his life. Chase and Milward, silent and asleep in bed for most of the play, hold a lot of presence, and their moments of speech come as a pleasant and hilarious surprise. Milward especially justifies everything that comes out of Marcie’s mouth making her perhaps the most memorable character in the show.

It is the nature of a script set in a hospital ward that much of the action takes place sat down in chairs, but Bethany Pitts’ direction still makes space for dynamic moments of motion that disrupt the normality of sitting, reading and waiting. Isabella Van Braeckel’s detailed costume design deserves a mention for its simple awareness of each character, allowing us to truly see these whose these people are at a glance.

With gasps and guffaws in equal measure, “A Funny Thing…” translates well into British culture, being moving, wince-inducing and really funny all in one go. Not one to be missed.

 

Reviewed by Joseph Prestwich

Photography by James O Jenkins

 


A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit

Finborough Theatre until 27th October

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Imaginationship | ★★ | January 2018
Into the Numbers | ★★★★ | January 2018
Booby’s Bay | ★★★★ | February 2018
Cyril’s Success | ★★★ | February 2018
Checkpoint Chana | ★★★★ | March 2018
Returning to Haifa | ★★★★ | March 2018
White Guy on the Bus | ★★★★ | March 2018
Gracie | ★★★★ | April 2018
Masterpieces | ★★ | April 2018
Break of Noon | ★½ | May 2018
The Biograph Girl | ★★★ | May 2018
Finishing the Picture | ★★★★ | June 2018
But it Still Goes on | ★★★★ | July 2018
Homos, or Everyone in America | ★★★★ | August 2018
A Winning Hazard | ★★★★ | September 2018
Square Rounds | ★★★ | September 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

 

 

thespyinthestalls King Kong

King Kong

The Vaults

30th June 2017

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

“A madcap comedy escape”

 

The cinematic path to Skull Island and the fabled beast King Kong is a well trodden one since the first film in 1933 up to the recently released Kong: Skull Island starring, amongst others, Tom Hiddleston.

Less trodden is the theatre path but that has changed with the opening of Daniel Clarkson’s engaging comedic re-imagination of the Kong story at the atmospheric Vaults underneath Waterloo Station.

thespyinthestalls King Kong

Clarkson, a self–confessed cinephile, has previous success from his critically acclaimed ‘Potted’ stage shows that included the Olivier nominated Potted Potter. Being a huge fan of the 1933 classic King Kong he wanted to create a spoof comedy version for the stage and his work is now available for all to see.

Keeping close to the original film storyline, filmmaker Carl Denham charters a New York ship for a project but is unable to secure an actress for the female role. After a search he finds penniless Ann and convinces her to join the crew for an adventure of a lifetime. They head for Skull Island.

thespyinthestalls King Kong

There follows a series of adventures that culminate in the capture of Kong, who is brought back to New York to be paraded as the Eighth Wonder of the World. Eventually escaping and climbing the Empire State Building, Kong is shot and falls to his death. Denham says the classic line ‘it wasn’t the airplanes, it was Beauty that killed the Beast’.

Set designer Simon Scullion makes the most of the arched space and has created an adaptable four tier pyramid set that creates a sense of the ship, Skull Island and the Empire State Building. The sound is loud and clear bringing in particular a hidden beast to life. Lighting is basic but effective.

thespyinthestalls King Kong

The five competent actors play various roles and each commands the set throughout the 80 minute show. Various props are brought onto the set and there is a hilarious use of puppetry in the ‘sacrifice’ scene.

Rob Crouch as Denham (looking every part the film director in his linen suit) has a strong voice that leads us through the storyline. Ben Chamberlain plays the wimpy sailor scared of almost everything but provides the love interest with Ann (Alix Dunmore). Sam Donnelly is the archetypal seafaring Skipper and Brendan Murphy is a hilarious Token Guy. The cast obviously enjoyed bringing this comic romp to the stage.

thespyinthestalls King Kong

Fans of King Kong will undoubtedly want to witness this show though it does has a much wider appeal and there was a good cross section of ages in the audience. Whether those younger members quite understood some of the humour is questionable but they would have enjoyed the visual delights on offer.

The show was laugh out loud in places and mildly funny in others. The humour seemed to represent a mixture between pantomime, an end of the pier show, Monty Python and a little bit of Marx Brothers. There was a feeling though that the whole wasn’t greater than the sum of its parts.

thespyinthestalls King Kong

In conclusion this was a well acted and presented show that made for a fun night out and a tonic for those wanting a bit of silliness to brighten their week. It is indeed a bananas production and worth a visit.

 

Photography by Geraint Lewis

 

 

King Kong

is at The Vaults until 27th August

 

 

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