DUMB SHOW To 20 June.

Newcastle-under-Lyme

DUMB SHOW
by Joe Penhall

New Vic Theatre To 20 June.
Mon-Tue; Thu-Sat 7.30pm Mat 20 June 2.15pm.
Audio Described: 20 June 2.15pm.
Captioned 16 June.
Talkback : Tue 16 June.
Run: 2hr 10min One interval.

TICKETS: 01782 717962.
www.newvictheatre.org.uk
Review: Stoon 3 June 2009.

Watchable, but forgotten as quickly as yesterday’s headlines.
Dumb Show stars Barry, a celebrity TV comedian snared in a sex-and-drugs sting set-up by a unscrupulous undercover hacks. Philip Breen’s revival of Joe Penhall’s play suggests critical goodwill towards the 2004 Royal Court premiere derived from acknowledgement of journalistic malpractice. Barry’s vices (a smidgeon of Charlie applied to the gums along with a boozy grope) now seem C-List compared to YouTube celebrity Roasting sessions, sex-exposes of England managers and Freddie’s Caribbean booze-bender.

Liz (Liz Brice) and Greg (Richard Ellis) play tabloid newshounds smelling sensationalist blood as they arrange a hotel-room meeting with Barry (Steve Elliot) whose marriage and career are in decline – they want the inside scoop of showbiz tantrums and bedroom secrets…Barry just wants things to be as they were.

It’s a patchy production, too static in movement to create any dynamism for an in-the-round staging. Occasionally it comes across like a set-piece affair with Mamet-like repetitive dialogue, but lacking the subtlety as everything’s explained. The underlying message takes precedence, and we’re left with little feeling to all three characters – they wouldn’t talk like that a lot of the time.

Steve Elliot’s Barry at least offers some justification for his larger-than-life manner, performed as though he’s live on-air in stand-up mode, the embarrassing lameness of his most prized jokes a measure of his vulnerability. Greg’s aggressive journalistic technique is more Jack Regan than Poirot. He’s dismissive of Liz, who’s dutifully subservient in the opening but shows most depth later when entrapping Barry – both lay their souls bare and we’d like to believe she’s part-genuine in her expressed concern.

Act Two is effectively a trial, with Barry in the dock under Greg’s hostile cross-examination. We can sense the injustice yet remain indifferent. By the end we’re left watching characters eat bananas in meaningful ways and grateful we’re not arty enough to fully appreciate the hidden poetry of food.

With reality television setting the tabloid news agenda and a broadsheet expose re MP’s expenses possibly toppling a Prime Minster, this tale seems an irrelevance. Despite worthy moments, there aren’t enough laughs for a comedy, and ultimately we feel short changed.

Liz May Brice: Liz.
Steve Elliot: Barry.
Richard Elis: Greg.

Director: Phillip Breen.
Designer: Max Jones.
Lighting: Tina MacHugh.
Sound: James Earls-Davis.

2009-06-10 00:27:33