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Bromance: The Dudesical – 4 Stars

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Bromance

Bromance: The Dudesical

The Other Palace

Reviewed – 18th October 2018

★★★★

“a gut-bustingly hilarious pop rock musical”

 

Brush up on your brocabulary because we’re heading to guyville. A place of bros, dudes, beer and chilli cheese fries. Bromance: The Dudesical is a gut-bustingly hilarious pop rock musical. It follows the story of Tom (Cellen Chugg Jones), Dick (Robbie Smith) and Harry (Richard J Hunt); three bros doing bro things. But on St Patricks day they come across Marty (Joshua Gannon), the opposite of a bro. We follow their quest of taking Marty on the road of bro.

First, I want to say, this show is brilliant. The music by Kyle Ewalt is genius. What starts off as a pop rock musical, skilfully glides through a plethora of music influences, from Disco to Country to Jazz. The lyrics by Michael Ian Walker and Kyle Ewalt are well crafted and add an additional layer of humour to the already hilarious script. My particular song favourite was ‘Heartburn’ performed by Harry.

With the wonderful material in play, the execution is pivotal. The five member cast succeeded in that regard. They are strong, full of energy and committed to what they are doing. Their energy pulsates throughout the entire fun, silly and irreverent two hour show; particularly in the stylised choreography. All were excellent, but the leading front bro for me was Robbie Smith as Dick. He is unstoppable in this role, creating a fully realised bro, commanding the stage and delivering the role with such humour and precision. A special mention must also go to Esme Laudat who faultlessly picks up all the female roles.

Despite everything that is going for this show, there are a few areas that need working on. There were a couple of stumbles with staging and words, and with the calibre of material and talent on stage, I expected better. The sound (Joe Morris) needs serious work; the mics of the performers seemed to cut in and out quite regularly and when they did work, the balance didn’t seem right, so you could hear some but not others. On a more positive note, the set design (Dan Gillingwater) in the small studio space of The Other Palace was very clever.

Bromance: The Dudesical is excellent. It has its problems, but they are easily fixable. I came out of The Other Palace, feeling uplifted by this show. Go check it out, bro.

 

Reviewed by Shaun Dicks

Photography by  Andy Keelan

 


Bromance: The Dudesical

The Other Palace until 24th October

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Eugenius! | ★★★★ | February 2018
Suicide | ★★★½ | May 2018

 

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

 

 

Piste

On the Piste

Jack Studio Theatre

Reviewed – 26th October 2017

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

“John Godber’s script remains fresh and is delivered beautifully”

 

Jack Studio Theatre is rapidly becoming a favourite haunt of mine. Tucked away in South East London, not only is it situated inside a very nice pub with great food and tasty cocktails, but the productions presented by artistic director Kate Bannister in this comfortable and compact space are varied and proving to be exceptionally good.

Two couples arrive in snowy Chamonix; long term partners Alison and Chris, trying out a snow-vacation for the first time, and new lovers Bev and Dave, novices on skis who are still learning about each other’s wants and needs. Neither couple is instantly enamoured with the other.

Piste

Coaching them from Health & Safety nightmares to sliding-down-a-slope-while-remaining-mostly-upright capability is the fit, flirty, perma-tanned and passionate instructor Tony (enthusiastically played by Robbie Smith), whose presence oozes potential chaos.

As their lessons progress we see what kind of people they may be, and how they deal with each other and interact with their attentive coach. During their après-ski drinks we learn their histories and secrets, their insecurities, cute quirks and annoying habits, and along the way – too much information about one couple’s bedroom role play!

Piste

The physical comedy is at the right level for me. I’ve never been a fan of slapstick and the play doesn’t rely on on stage pratfalls to make a point, leaving costume (and first aid) to move time along and tell the story.

A sense of distance between Chris and Alison (realistically portrayed by Andrew Agnes and Ellie Jackson) and a sense of discovery bursting through Dave and Bev’s burgeoning relationship managed to create almost non stop amusement (due partly to James Murfitt’s comic timing and Ceris Hine’s brilliant physical comedy). The audience’s laughs, though at times bittersweet, were universal.

Piste

John Godber’s script, originally written in 1990, remains fresh and is delivered beautifully, even during Bev’s toe-curling whine! A simple yet versatile set kept the focus on the performance. The very capable cast managed to maintain character through farce, fury and nudity despite being within touching distance of their appreciative audience.

On The Piste speeds slalom style from mountain to hotel, via sauna and cable car, towards an increasingly inevitable outcome. I found myself continuously giggling – I don’t laugh out loud often, but I made quite a few exceptions for this play.

 

Reviewed by Joanna Hinson

Photography by David Ball

 

 

ON THE PISTE

is at Jack Studio Theatre until 7th November

 

Piste

 

 

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