★½

“an arrogant, thoroughly dated and unfunny mess … send in the rescue team”

A crisis is unfolding. A team must be dispatched to deal with it. This is the basis for countless World War Two action films, and the starting point for Doodle – The Musical! at the Waterloo East Theatre. With book and lyrics from Jonathan Kydd, whose father Sam starred in several of these films, and music from Andy Street, an American Idol mentee, the signs would appear promising. The show aspires to present a loving pastiche, a comedy-musical aiming for a lightning quick romp. Instead, it is unfortunate that the age of the inspiration floods into the comedy and misses the target entirely. A crisis is unfolding …

It is 1940. The inventor of the bouncing bomb, Barnes Wallis, is kidnapped by the Germans to make a war-winning device. As he is regarded as someone who only has the ability to make things bounce, the worst of the worst are assembled to rescue him and find out what Gerry is up to. This includes, among others, the actor Errol Flynn, David Niven and Weaver, a woman who is constantly ignored but will eventually come good, as per the patronising character type that writers believe is a ‘strong empowering woman’.

With such a rich vein of material from which to use, Kydd’s writing truly labours to find the funny, and tries to grab at all it can. We jump across scientists in love with their robots, a spy who is amusing because the actor is naked, or something, and a bizarre repeating line of humour in which anything linked to homosexuality is apparently hilarious! I want to dispel the idea that this is political correctness gone mad; it’s just simply not funny. The songs do not add much to help matters. Led in by awkward segues, they are overlong and rely often on constant repetition in place of any wit or memorable hooks.

The production from Jonathan Moore has none of the visual razzmatazz that might release a piece of this kind. Transitions are awkward, dull and clunky while the bare design from Baska Wesolowska places the emphasis on the comedy, which in this case does not act as a positive. This mundanity carries in to the choreography, uninventive and stilted. I particularly sympathise for dancers Kate Haughton and Viva Foster, whose only instruction appears to be that they vaguely float around in skimpy outfits during songs.

For the cast, there are moments where you feel that with given stronger material they could have promise. Sooz Henshaw does what she can as Weaver, lending her at least some personality. As Tweed, Paul Ryan brings a suitable stiff upper lip. But it is too late to save anything from the evening. All are stuck within an arrogant, thoroughly dated and unfunny mess. Send in the rescue team.

Reviewed by Callum McCartney

Christmas Farce

Waterloo East Theatre

Reviewed – 30th November 2017

★★★

“Too many of the scenes are full of one-on-one dialogues that drag the pace down significantly”

Comedy is tricky and farce is a different beast altogether, timings need to be impeccable and the writing razor sharp. As a lover of all things farce I had high hopes for this show, and sadly they weren’t quite met.

Set in the backstage area of a nativity, this production directed by Stephen Davies follows the cast as they prepare for press night. Things inevitably start to go wrong as personal problems begin to arise before the curtain does. It’s ironic that there is a running joke about how modern their nativity production is when so many of the jokes feel outdated. Danny (played with a solid effort by Samuel Buttery) is a flamboyant male character who continues to protest his heterosexuality whilst wearing a sequinned mini-dress. I was quite disappointed that writer Shaun Kitchener had chosen to go in this obvious direction with the humour. Though Timothy George committed well to his role as the snooty Jonathan, snarky comments about Danny’s “lifestyle choices” just end up sounding mean and created an uncomfortable atmosphere.

The placement of a small couch in the middle of the stage is an odd choice. The couch is quite low down and near the back of the stage, meaning that when people were sat on it I struggled to see and hear them. Characters would frequently plop themselves down on the sofa, meaning any energy in the scene was completely drained.

There are however some genuinely funny moments, Jamie-Rose Monk saves the second act as Stacey, the soap star who thinks she’s living out a murder/revenge storyline. As she chased characters around with an imaginary glass bottle I felt that there could have been more great moments of physical comedy like it. Too many of the scenes are full of one-on-one dialogues that drag the pace down significantly, in particular those between Georgie (Katherine Edrupt) and Samuel (Alan Bradley) who are involved in a half-hearted affair.

Emma Tansely is fantastic as Beatrice, the show’s director. She manages to give great characterisation that makes even simple lines entertaining. What a shame that she was almost entirely absent from the second half of the show! I was also impressed with Natalie Lester’s ability to inject much-needed liveliness into scenes as Alice, the nervous understudy with a weak stomach. Marc-Gee Finch was likeable as crew member Makenzie but it was largely an underdeveloped character.

Tag Archives: Waterloo East Theatre

Doodle – 1.5 Stars

Doodle

Waterloo East Theatre

Reviewed – 12th January 2018

★½

“an arrogant, thoroughly dated and unfunny mess … send in the rescue team”

Reviewed by Callum McCartney

Doodle

Waterloo East Theatre until 28th January

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Review of Christmas Farce – 3 Stars

Christmas Farce

Waterloo East Theatre

Reviewed – 30th November 2017

★★★

“Too many of the scenes are full of one-on-one dialogues that drag the pace down significantly”

Comedy is tricky and farce is a different beast altogether, timings need to be impeccable and the writing razor sharp. As a lover of all things farce I had high hopes for this show, and sadly they weren’t quite met.

Overall despite valiant efforts from the cast, the dated nature of the material and slow pace left me feeling unfulfilled and disappointed.

Reviewed by Ella McCarron

Photography courtesy West Avenue

Christmas Farce

is at the Waterloo East Theatre until 17th December

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