ABSOLUTELY FRANK. To 14 June.
Hornchurch.
ABSOLUTELY FRANK
by Tim Firth.
Queen’s Theatre To 14 June 2008.
Tue-Sat 8pm Mat 5, 14 June 2.30pm
Audio-described 14 June 2.30pm.
BSL Signed 11 June.
Captioned 4 June.
Runs 2hr One interval.
TICKETS: 01708 443333.
Review: Timothy Ramsden 30 May.
Gentle comedy on the edge.
Well, not absolutely Frank. Young Alan develops just as much as his late-fifties counterpart in the two acts of Tim Firth’s ‘odd-couple’ comedy of individuals fitting-in to or being edged-out of a corporate world. Originally seen at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph, it’s been revised for Hornchurch. Either the rewrites, or the advantage, in a play that can seem to be meandering, of memories from Scarborough reminding where things are going - or the direction and performances, make Matthew Lloyd’s revival seem an improvement on the 2006 version.
They’re on the edge all right, Alan and old Frank, erecting an illuminated sign in front of the office-block where Frank’s worked for decades as chief installation engineer. For the certainties underlying his confident instructions and criticisms of Alan have disappeared without him noticing, as surely as the rest of the company’s staff have silently evaporated. Frank has to come to terms with this, and with his limitations as a spy-writer (something Firth hardly makes convincing).
Alan has an artistic dream, of being a rock-star. But conformity strikes anywhere; by the second act, the pair are out of overalls and into suits, their status reversed. Alan, at least, knows how greasy a pole he’s climbing; Frank’s now the one on a scheme. Always, the one with status takes the strain.
Firth contrives some neat situations and, as in his full-length debut Neville’s Island, several crafty side-steps in the action, along with some very funny lines. But whereas Neville surged forward through the bonding exercise that isolated four businessmen together, driven by conflicting personalities, this play still seems too long for what it has to say.
It leaves the suspicion this pair could have been part of a larger – if not much longer – drama. There’s a lack of dramatic richness and variety. That said, Barry McCarthy and Rowan Schlosberg give well-contrasted performances. McCarthy’s initial confidence turns to carefree jollity in the second act. Frank’s learned to laugh - and has the last laugh or two. Schlosberg reveals the individuality behind the iPod-tuned youth and, later, the anxiety of a young executive needing to prove himself.
Frank Tollit: Barry McCarthy.
Alan: Rowan Schlosberg.
Director: Matthew Lloyd.
Designer: Rodney Ford.
Lighting: Matthew Eagland.
Sound: Steve Mayo.
2008-06-01 12:04:02