ABSOLUTELY FRANK till 21 February

Oldham.

ABSOLUTELY FRANK
by Tim Firth.

Coliseum Theatre To 21 February 2009.
Tues-Sat 7.30pm; Fri 8pm; Mats Wed (11 & 18 Feb) & Sat (14 & 21 Feb) 2.30pm.
Runs 2hr -One interval.

TICKETS: 0161 624 2829.
www.coliseum.org.uk
Review: Stoon Barar: 4 February 2009.

A play for today about a man of letters which only scratches the surface.

This piece started life as a one-act play (,i>Man of Letters) in 1991 …coincidently a time when this Country’s last recession was biting hardest. Its message is the pursuit of happiness and the castles we choose to build in the sky and the reluctant compromise that most of us actually accept in real life – failed ambition is the bitterest pill to swallow.

Back then it featured only two actors - Frank (nearing retirement) and young Alan, who’s landed a work experience placement for a week with Frank - who on the surface exudes more job satisfaction than a candlestick maker in Heaven. By the end though Frank’s world is turned upside down as he learns that 40 years of unbroken loyalty to his employer does not necessarily gain a place in the aforementioned Heaven. On top of this is Frank’s realisation that his working life has been spent in a job he never really loved, he just convinced himself that he did.

Fast Forward 15 years later to 2006 when Tim Firth chose to add a second act - a sort of ‘where are they now?’ update and retitled the extended piece ‘Absolutely Frank’. Prior to viewing, I looked forward to its relevance to the economically troubled present day, a harsh time when many decent folk are experiencing precisely what Frank did – but for real. Also I had recently seen ‘The Wrestler’ & Revolutionary Road at the cinema, both of which admirably dealt with a similar theme. Unfortunately, my expectations proved too lofty and I left feeling disappointed, largely as a result of the failure of the script to dig deep enough.

Granted, we know exactly what Frank (Geoffrey Hughes) feels and thinks, but only in the most general terms…it never feels as though he’s speaking from the heart – more a case of a lifetime rehearsed monologue. In fact this ‘talking heads’ approach means his exchanges with Alan (Des O’Malley) never feel like a true (spontaneous) interaction. Furthermore, the portrayal of Alan is almost too comic, a bit too much of the Bisto Kid; apart from a pair of mp3 earphones there’s nothing any group of 16-21yr olds could identify with (I was accompanied by one). Other, that is, than being ‘put down’ by a condescending adult!

I like the underlying sense of calm youthful smartness that surfaces occasionally…we know who is the brighter and contented of the two.
The play feels wafer thin, resulting in a feeling of dutiful viewing.

Frank: Geoffrey Hughes.
Alan: Des O’Malley.

Director: Noreen Kershaw.
Designer: Rodney Ford.
Lighting: Tom Weir.
Sound: Lorna Munden.
On The Book: Emma Cook.

2009-02-07 22:04:58