Amendments: A Play On Words – Old Red Lion Theatre, Angel

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

Writer: Matt Roberts

Director: Tom Stabb

“Corporate Conversations”

3 / 5

If you’ve ever worked in a corporate environment, you’ll be familiar with the likes of Kenneth (Matt Roberts). As the Head of HR he is desperate to enforce new policies and guidelines at every turn, even if they make no sense and have no impact on productivity. The scene is set with humorous posters in the background like ‘ready, set, grow’ and mottos such as ‘spreadsheets not bedsheets’ to encourage people to stop working from home. John (Al Wadlan) has been reprimanded for staying late and inappropriately conversing with a female colleague – much to his confusion and dismay.

The wordplay between the characters is well done, their love for linguistics apparent within the fast-paced script. They also present both sides of the argument quite evenly – initially mocking the ridiculousness of HR policies and political correctness, making Kenneth the butt of most of the jokes because of his over-the-top approach to sensitivity and banal ideas about how to improve the workplace. But, as the narrative progresses, there is a shift, with Kenneth making very eloquent, rousing acknowledgements about how language is an important tool, and how words be used as both a weapon and or a way to connect in a positive manner. This monologue is well said (albeit at points uncomfortable due to the subject matter) and drives the other side of the political correctness ‘debate’ clearly and sensibly.

This is a well-written comedy, with Roberts and Wadlan well suited to their parts. The quick nature of the script allows the dialogue to flow, and the jokes time to land without spending too long on them. Some of the ‘men are too scared to say anything nowadays’ or ‘women could make things up to further their careers’ remarks are outdated, even with the context of the show and the exaggerated nature of both characters, but they don’t quite fit with the otherwise sharp, snappy script. One thing you’ll never forget is either of the characters names as they are mentioned in every single sentence. While initially it was humorous & very ‘corporate’ sounding, it got a bit overdone, and the script would sound better (and be at least 5 minutes shorter!) without the frequent name reminders.

Roberts has written both characters in a way that have become a caricature of both sides of the argument with the extremities of both John and Kenneth being the main focal point of the humour. Although lovers of language will enjoy this especially, it isn’t alienating to those that don’t have as much of an interest in wordplay as the straightforward story and identifiable characters will be familiar to many.

Runs Until 14 October 2023