Boys Will Be Boys to August 20

Boys will be Boys
by Simon Williams

The Mill at Sonning, Reading, 24th June 2003 to 2nd August 2003
Tues Suns: Dinner 18.30, show 2015; Sats Suns: Lunch 12.30, show 14.15

Theatre Royal, Windsor 4 August 2003 9 August 2003.
Mon Sat 20.00,
Thurs 7th August: 14.30 and Sat 9th August: 16.45

Runs 2 hours 15 minutes: One Interval

Tickets 01189 698000:

Review Mark Courtice: 1st July 2003

Drag drag.
Lenny (Simon Williams) has (for some reason) been pretending to be Myrtle Banbury so he can write romantic fiction, and while, (for some reason) he has been keen that people don't know who Myrtle really is, he now (for some reason) wants to kill her off. Will radio journalist Letitia discover all? Will daughter Dee Dee get to tell her big news? Who cares?

Although the plot relies on web-cams and mobile phones this is a very old fashioned affair. It is an article of English comedy faith that a man dressing up as a woman is funny; but the modern way of doing this is the League of Gentlemen - not Charlie's Aunt, which is where it seems Myrtle comes from. There are some snappy gags, but they don't keep us entertained for long enough.

Williams writes, directs, and acts, and he is therefore the one we must hold responsible for a piece that struggles laboriously to be logical by its own lights. It bears no relation to the world that anyone actually lives in, and about which it is hard to care.

Because they are just types, there is no reason to get involved with the self-consciously wacky father, the cute, determined daughter, the flashy ex-wife. Letitia, who is not only supposed to be a hard nosed and dangerous hack but also a medium, is fatally inconsistent, and as played by a turban-clad Sheila Ballentine is scarcely original.

Most of the company adopt that sort of subdued bellow which signals that an English actor is in trouble. Gareth Thomas plays the dad with immaculate timing (not shared by everyone else) and without much effort, and Simon Williams can do both honest, buttoned up Lenny and the drag role of Myrtle without trouble; but here it's without inspiration either. Karen Ascoe struggles gamely with a cipher part as the ex-wife.

The design efficiently addresses the challenges of the plot, but the costumes are very odd; poor Ms Ascoe, for instance, was dressed in a succession of boiled sweet primary coloured costumes that were neither elegant nor funny.

Lenny : Simon Williams
Dee Dee: Amy Williams
Gus: Gareth Thomas
Letitia Butters: Sheila Ballentine
Fran: Karen Ascoe

Director: Simon Williams
Set Designer: Jacqueline Hitson
Costume Designer: Jane Kidd
Lighting: Roslyn Nash

2003-07-04 20:21:51