A CARPET, A PONY AND A MONKEY. To 15 June.
London
A CARPET, A PONY AND A MONKEY
by Mike Packer
Bush Theatre To 15 June 2002
Mon-Sat 8pm
Runs 2hr 20min One interval
TICKETS 020 7610 4224
Review Timothy Ramsden 23 May
Knife edged lives in a varied quartet of gamblers and opportunists; a play both funny and hard-hitting.As opposed to A Ruof, a Neves and a Tom; which'd not be worth half as much. These are all numbers in gambler-speak. Barry, 50, made a fortune out of a ticket agency, then lost the money he'd made touting on the stock exchange. Now, the credit cards are crashing and he needs £100,000 by the end of the month.
So he's in Belgium with young Tosser, selling marked-up Euro 2000 soccer tickets, buying up more from resting soccer-star Al, who's hanging around, awaiting transfer, with Kate – a gorgeous moron with an agenda of steel. Alongside coping with his dicky heart and dodgy VAT returns, Baz is also trying to control his loud-mouthed racist partner.
The play's not perfect. The interrelated history of Barry and Tosser's families seems contrived, while Tosser's racism and Barry's middle-aged concern for humanity are shoved a bit awkwardly into the story.
But Packer's fascinating in pursuit of the truth. As his innards churn and bankruptcy looms, conscience-stricken Baz hits out with multiple lies and cheats. While Al, the Black Welshman who's made it in England, clings loudly to stardom despite a growing catalogue of injuries.
He dreams of marrying Kate, a rancid English rose, loving one moment and leaving the next. Happily proclaiming her whole glamorous appearance to be a cosmetic lie, she eventually helps the others sell him out to the ultimate lie-world of tabloid exposure.
Comic and hard-hitting, this is the third hit in the Bush's three-play 30th anniversary season. The theatre's still hitting the heights too in acting, design and direction. Ever twitching with inward fury, Nicolas Tennant shows how fine acting's rooted in reacting. There's similar restlessness in Lucy Punch's Kate, her right leg tapping impatiently, the face catching momentary snarls as her lips work through expressive contortions.
Clint Dyer's catches Al's confident and deeper-seated insecurity, facing a vocabulary deficit when preparing to be interviewed, but mounting a forceful put-down against Tosser's racism. Philip Jackson, a Bush veteran, gives an impeccable display of moral concern smashing against convenient duplicity.
Mike Bradwell's spot-on detailed direction and Lisa Lillywhite's set, catching the awful sham luxury of chain-hotels, maintain the highest Bush standards.
Al: Clint Dyer
Baz: Philip Jackson
Kate: Lucy Punch
Tosser: Nicolas Tennant
Director: Mike Bradwell
Designer: Lisa Lillywhite
Lighting: Nick Richings
Sound: John Leonard and Scott George for Aura
2002-05-24 08:23:47