Writer: Torben Betts
Director: Philip Franks
Reviewer: Christine Stanton
“Outdated“
2.5 / 5
It’s New Years Eve and the police have been called to the mansion of one of the most prolific businessmen in Kent to investigate a shocking and complex crime scene that leaves them dumbfounded.
Johnny ‘The Cyclops’ Drinkwater (Jason Durr) is no stranger to the police, the notorious gangster has spent time in jail but has supposedly turned his life around with his money-making pig farm. His aging mother Shirley (Susie Blake) knows the score, encouraging him from a young age to be a strong, feared man that doesn’t let anyone take advantage. But when he arrives home unexpectedly early after a business trip, he doesn’t expect to find his girlfriend Lisa (Iryna Poplavska) and new Vicar friend Paul (Max Bowden) drinking his brandy, his mother exclaiming the devil in the house, his housekeeper Cristina (Bella Farr) panicking over a mysterious phone call, nor wannabe burglar Mr Fish (Callum Balmforth) hoping to cash in on the last night of the year. Can he and his sidekick Trainwreck (Peter Moreton) show he’s not to be messed with or is it time up for the dodgy Drinkwater?
The foundations are there for a farcical crime caper, but dubbed as a comedy thriller, it’s currently not comedic or thrilling enough to be either. One of the key elements that would help this production work better, is the pacing, which is currently so slow and meandering that a lot of the comedic aspects don’t fully land as they should. Moments where characters are dotted in different areas of the house unbeknownst to each other, have very stilted, rather than slick transitions, which makes each of the individual storylines feel more standalone than blended as they should be. The script does have a lot packed into it, and the final scenes do help wrap everything up neatly, but the build up towards it contains too many outdated references, and annoying, repetitive, unnecessary catchphrases (e.g “do you know what I mean when I say that?”, “Bloody Nora!”, “to be fair”) often a similar vibe to a bad 70s sitcom with a laugh track attached.
Colin Falconer’s set is fantastically designed to facilitate the frequent scene changes and easy flow of movement for the characters. The split level home immediately establishes Johnny’s personality (including the large Robbie Williams portrait in his office for his odd, unexplained obsession) while equally depicting a well-off family home environment. Max Bowden’s bumbling, awkward Paul is humorous, enjoyable and well-performed, while Jason Durr’s Johnny is believable and engaging. The stand-out elements in an otherwise disappointing production.
Runs until 29th November then continues to tour
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