The Strange Affair of Paul – Hen & Chickens Theatre, Highbury & Islington (Camden Fringe)

Writer: Callum Jones

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Silly Parody“

3 / 5

One of life’s greatest unsolved mysteries is why Paul from The Traitors Australia was banished to the background and given no screen time until a few seconds in episode 10 of the hit reality TV show. Reddit threads were on fire with rampant speculation and confusion as to what he could have done to be so brutally edited out of the show, but no-one seemed to have the answers – until now.  

Armchair detective Sam Marlowe is on the case – ready to blow the lid open on the Paulspiracy and provide the world with answers. He goes on a path of deep dives into Instagram accounts, hunting down the gatekeepers in on the secret at Network 10 and relentlessly re-watching footage to see if he can spot a clue. He finally stumbles across the truth, but surely there’s more to the mystery that what he’s uncovered?  

Performed as a film noir parody, Marlowe (Callum Jones) does a brilliant representation of a 1920s American wise-cracking detective, complete with over-the-top metaphors and suspenseful dramatics. The plot is expectedly silly but fun – Jones does a good job of keeping the entertainment factor and the joke count high, ticking off all the stereotypical film noir tropes with ease, although the ‘hehs’ at the end of the sentences become a little overdone. Although the main focus is on the case of Paul – Jones incorporates snippets of Marlowe’s life also, from his nephew’s puppies to his obsession with Claudia Winkleman which adds an extra comedic layer to the character.  

Jones also utilises multimedia throughout the production, with humorous recorded videos projected as flashbacks, as Marlowe reminisces on the case. The projector also helpfully showcases some of the evidence that Marlowe has compiled in his search for the truth, so even those who weren’t part of the original Reddit deep dives, can still be bought up to speed, rather than being left in the dark like Paul himself.  

It’s a uniquely niche storyline, that’s pulled off well by Jones who parodies the film noir genre well.  

Runs Until 7^th August 2024