Reviewer: Christine Stanton
Writer: Shaun McKenna & Andrew Van Sickle
Director: Bronagh Lagan
“Farce – Falls Flat”
3 / 5
King’s Head Theatre have kicked off 2024 with a new 200 seat venue, only a stone’s throw away from their original pub theatre space. The show opening the new venture is Exhibitionists – a romantic comedy set in the San Francisco art world.
Exhibitionists puts a focus on two couples whose lives collide at a mutual friend’s art exhibition, in a Californian gallery. Conor (Ashley D Gayle) and Mal (Jake Mitchell-Jones) are married, although Mal isn’t keen on Conor’s promiscuous past, and Conor wishes Mal was more sexually open-minded. Robbie (Robert Rees) and Rayyan (Rolando Montecalvo) have been dating for a short time, with Rayyan keen to take their relationship to the next stage and get married, but Robbie is still reeling from his last breakup. Cue an awkward encounter between exes Conor and Robbie – who immediately launch fiery retorts back and forth as they rehash the downfall of their time together, all with Mal and Rayyan simultaneously searching for them in the other rooms.
As with many farces, the storyline moves at breakneck speed, the ex-lovers quickly abandoning both of their partners and agreeing to elope together and reignite their relationship. Although this adds to the comedic factor, at times the plot moves quicker than the script itself – which lags in comparison, their speeches to each other feeling repetitive and overdone. The storyline flicks from gallery to motel to mansion – but the dialogue itself is quite stilted, and never really progresses along with the plot, instead just repeats of similar conversations about the pros vs cons of monogamy or open relationships.
Motel owner Sebastian (Øystein Lode) is a fun addition to the storyline – initially serving as the bridge between the two pairs as they hide out in their adjacent rooms, but quickly defining himself as a willing participant in Conor and Robbie’s open set-up. Lode humorously interacts with the characters and having him as an unexpected 5th wheel helps to balance out the otherwise predictable storyline. Mitchell-Jones is very natural on stage, delivering the almost pantomime like performance required of his neurotically loved-up Mal character without being too cartoonish.
The set (Gregor Donnelly) is very modern, with a mix of video (Matt Powell) and projected images alongside Clancy Flynn’s subtle but effective lighting design. The space is easily transformed into each location with simple, yet effective tweaks, as the characters glide in and out of each room making great use of the small stage.
This is an enjoyable enough show but it doesn’t have the necessary substance to really fill the 90-minute runtime. The production is at its best when the characters engage in short, snappy dialogue and really embrace the farcical nature of the narrative. Outside of this, there is too much padding, seemingly an attempt to add more depth, but instead it drowns out the light-hearted frivolity that would help the show shine.
Runs Until 10 February 2024
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