Tag Archives: Violet Howson

PLEADING STUPIDITY

★★★

New Wimbledon Theatre

PLEADING STUPIDITY at the New Wimbledon Theatre

★★★

“absurd and delightful in equal measure”

Pleading Stupidity is, as the title suggests, ever so silly.

From Maybe You Like It Productions, this is the true story of two very stupid boys (classic) on their gap year (very classic) working in a small skiing town in Colorado (also pretty classic), who underestimate the excitement such a town provides, and rashly decide upon robbing a bank for some extracurricular fun (a little less classic).

The story itself screams comedy: the case was solved in eight minutes owing to the titular stupidity of these Australian students-cum-bank robbers – inspired by Patrick Swayze in Point Break. But, unlike their hero, they lack common sense in all its forms. Chad (Jamie De Villiers) and Brad (Robert Merriam) end up holding bank workers Kelly (Lili Herbert) and Anna (Ellie Jay Cooper) at BB-gun point, still wearing their name tags from work, and dressed in skiing attire. The only Australians in town, there is never any mystery to solve, and they are quickly caught and arrested. But such unrelenting idiocy is a source of great hilarity, in which no comic stone is left unturned. Whilst there is some discussion of the dubiousness of their defence (stupidity) helped largely by being young, white men from Australia, this show is not really a commentary on the justice system, or male incompetence. It is purely a very amusing romp through this ridiculous crime, in which any seriousness is subsumed into delightful absurdity.

This four-person multi-rolling cast is fabulous as they charge across the stage manically, darting from character to character, in the likeness of those free electrons in metals which conduct energy really quickly (credits to GCSE Chemistry). The show is frenetic in the best way, and your attention is easily maintained throughout.

Pleading Stupidity has a delicious self-consciousness to it, harnessing meta-theatrical commentary wherever possible. From the start, the characters bicker over who should deliver exposition, and announce the coming of the next dramatic montage. It’s all wonderfully inventive, squeezing absolutely all it can out of its small inventory of props and cast members.

The stage is sparse, relying upon four multifunctional boxes to indicate different settings. But these are utilised with much success, as, for example, a pretzel stand seamlessly becomes a toilet then into an airport desk, and back to a pretzel stand. Props and costume are also subtly employed to indicate character changes, to great (and comic) effect.

As delightfully silly as this show is, I do wonder if it has a life that is sustainable or suitable outside of fringe settings. On its regional tour, this London stint took place in the New Wimbledon Theatre’s studio space, which is used to showcase new writing. This suited the piece very well. But the lack of emotional depth and the slightly confused ending does leave the show without much lasting impact. As clever and watchable as this irreverent play is, there is a notable absence in what it seeks to achieve, and its ending feels a little anticlimactic.

That said, Pleading Stupidity is absurd and delightful in equal measure. It’s not Beckett, but it is great fun, and a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

 


PLEADING STUPIDITY at the New Wimbledon Theatre then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 8th October 2024

by Violet Howson

Photography by Lucy Hayes

 

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN | ★★ | April 2024

PLEADING STUPIDITY

PLEADING STUPIDITY

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

 

THE ICE AT THE END OF THE WORLD

★★★★

Omnibus Theatre

THE ICE AT THE END OF THE WORLD at the Omnibus Theatre

★★★★

“Madelaine Moore’s direction is assured, moving with suave authority”

The Ice at the End of the World is chilling in the best way possible. Seldom in the theatre have I needed to squeeze someone’s hand quite so frequently. The lady next to me was very understanding. Luckily, I’d brought her with me. For seventy five minutes, we are aboard a tall ship, and taken on its eerie and highly unsettling excursion into the Arctic Circle.

We follow a small group of artists, who have been selected to undertake this really quite dangerous and not-just-for-giggles journey for the sake of their art. Their inspiration is ‘life at the end of the world’ (although this detail is not entirely clear). But the further north they go, the more disturbed things become. By the end of the piece, it is assuredly a cosmic horror, which harnesses both alien terror and a mythological morality tale concerning climate change and the arrogance of the human race.

The first thing that should be complimented is the superb plethora of non-verbal material here. Lighting (Megan Lucas) and Sound Design (Russell Ditchfield) work in compelling symbiosis. The axiom of this show is ‘we do not take the journey; the journey takes us.’ Thus, the actors weave between dialogue and protean physical theatre, cultivating the eerie unreality of life aboard a ship – maddeningly claustrophobic within the vast entrapment of the sea. Silhouettes, voiceovers, dance, and more, meld seamlessly, conjuring the other-worldly enchantments of the journey north.

Madelaine Moore’s direction is assured, moving with suave authority, and allowing its non-dialogic elements to taunt and threaten. They express the ineffable and erotic temptations of nature, especially as the ice melts, revealing the untamed potential of the uncivilised Earth, which demands something in return for the damage we have unthinkingly wreaked upon her.

The cast is brilliant as the four-person crew of eccentrics. Laura (Judith Amsenga), who functions as Nature’s tour guide of the Arctic Circle, is commanding and unhinged in terrifyingly equal measure. Eleanor Dillon-Reams is captivating as Alys, the sort-of protagonist, and a translator of Finnish poetry – of course, she is herself, a former, failed poet. Katy Schutte (who is also the writer, deserving of its own commendation) and Gian Carlo Ferrini are also excellent, and their characters complement the piece throughout.

This piece of theatre – I’m loath to call it but a play – is, at its core, a theatrical argument between Mother Nature and the human race: It is a battle of ego. Alongside, there is a recurring conceit devolving the nature and origin of genius. Here, genius manifests as an attendant demon that threatens to possess its human vessel completely. This idea looms throughout, posing some wonderful philosophical knots for the journey home.

A word used in the piece is ‘unsettling’: it is the perfect word with which to consider this play. We are unsettled constantly: by the movement of the ship, and by the evasive and disturbing chain of events.

If I had any criticisms, it would be that a discussion of queerness feels a little shoehorned in and lacking in sufficient development. I’d also say that some of the more abstract physical theatre was perhaps introduced too early to deliver its full effect. But I am nit-picking.

The Ice at the End of the World is endlessly resourceful. Its lens is panpsychist, probing the boundaries of consciousness and power, and flirting with the liminal spaces between Human and Nature, and where Art disrupts these fabrics. It is also a warning: a warning that the planet will avenge its destruction at the hands of human beings; a warning that the permanence of the Earth will forever haunt the exploits of mere mortals, no matter what their contributions. There’s also some really cool stuff with ice bears. I could not recommend this show enough.


THE ICE AT THE END OF THE WORLD at the Omnibus Theatre

Reviewed on 27th September 2024

by Violet Howson

Photography by Sadhbh McLoughlin

 

 


 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

MY LIFE AS A COWBOY | ★★★ | August 2024
HASBIAN | ★★★★ | June 2024
COMPOSITOR E | ★★★ | September 2023

THE ICE AT THE END OF THE WORLD

THE ICE AT THE END OF THE WORLD

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page