Reviewer: Christine Stanton
Writers & Directors: Linus Karp & Joseph Martin
“Brilliantly Bonkers”
4 / 5
Deer Valley, Utah – the place where Gwyneth Paltrow famously lost half a day of skiing one fateful day in 2016 due to a crash on the slopes with Dr Terry Sanderson. A widely publicised court battle ensued with Paltrow being found not guilty for causing the collision, but will that be the same conclusion the audience come to during their jury vote at Gwyneth Goes Skiing at The Pleasance?
Linus Karp (Gwyneth) and Joseph Martin (Terry) have brilliantly packaged all of the bizarre moments from and leading up to the trial, with a few creative fabrications such Terry getting pelted with snowballs by a team of angry squirrels. Some parts are so ridiculous that you assume they’re also fake such as Gwyneth being quizzed over her friendship with Taylor Swift or whether she’s a good tipper, which just adds to the great decision to bring this strange trial to the stage. The first act focuses on Deer Valley itself, where audiences are introduced to the pair – Terry a retired optometrist from Utah on a ski trip with his then girlfriend, and Gwyneth – Academy award winner and vagina candle maker. There is a fabulously written scene where Gwyneth makes a speech cleverly made up of her movie titles, that quickly solidifies the ingenuity of the writing. Another hilarious moment is when the two are skiing together down the mountain – no extravagant props or setting are needed for this humorous script to shine, a true definition of brilliance on a budget.
The second half of the show focuses on the trial, where various testimonials are made – including one from Gwyneth’s child Apple (played by an Apple), and one of the deer from Deer Valley. There are a few points in the second act where the show goes slightly off-piste and some of the jokes get repeated a few too many times, so it could be trimmed by 10/15mins to keep the pace and originality up, but overall, this is such a fun, silly production that it’s easy to get sucked back in to the frivolity of it. Having Terry’s lawyer played by a puppet (voiced by Martin) is also a great way to showcase some of her odd trial tactics and keep the unique nature of the show in force. They show that it’s not just the trial they can poke fun at either – by bringing in multiple witty pop culture references throughout, that are done so subtly that they’re easy to miss – so make sure you listen out and try to spot them all!
Although writers/directors Linus Karp and Joseph Martin are technically the only two performers in the play, the supporting roles are played by members of the audience (who were amazing!) that are approached to be selected before the show begins. Although I personally have an internal breakdown at shows with any essence of audience participation at the fear of being selected, this is done extremely well, with clear expectations and explanations on a card outlining the role you’d play if you agree to it. Outside of this, the only audience involvement is at the end where you scan a QR code to vote for the guilty party – as there’s two different endings for the show to finish with!
Awkward Productions, you’ve delivered a brilliantly bonkers show that has the audience belly laughing throughout, and for that, I wish you well.
Runs Until 16 February 2024
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