GARAGE BAND To 20 June.
Nottingham.
GARAGE BAND
by Andy Barrett.
Tue-Sat 7.45pm Mat 13 June 2.30pm & 18 June 1.30pm.
Audio-described 13 June 2.30pm, 17 June.
Captioned 19 June.
Post-show discussion 16 june.
Runs: 2hr 45min: one interval.
TICKETS: 0115 941 9419.
www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk.
Review: Alan Geary: 9 June 2009.
An enjoyable evening of punk, but thin theatre.
Sid Vicious was named after a pet hamster belonging to fellow Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten. This is one of a host of factoids from Garage Band, concerned with the seventies punk phenomenon. Besides factoids, the play also incorporates a few good punk numbers.
Four middle-aged, middle-class people get together in a garage to form a band. The four include lead singer Danny (Mark Jardine, in the best performance of the evening), in his day job a sociology lecturer. Predictably therefore, differences of opinion emerge - the difference of opinion cliché is only one of many to crop up during the play.
A running theme is the way that youthful rebelliousness morphs into middle-age. But, more interestingly, the play is also concerned with the whole question of existential authenticity, with the difference between being and/or doing something and merely talking about it.
Gavin (well-played by Roger Kingsland) wants to return to his stint in a seventies punk band to re-kindle the rebellion. Danny, on the other hand, believes that punk has passed into history: the only possibility now open to them is to consider the phenomenon objectively by forming a tribute band.
Except when Gavin or Danny launches into a set-piece speech - two of the best scenes come when Danny is doing his academic stuff, locally and in New York - the dialogue is realistic to the point of banality. In fact, what with a lot of set-piece entrances through the single door, the shaking of heads to indicate bewilderment and the over-use of gesticulation, there’s a lot of the TV soap about it.
It all happens on a highly realistic garage set augmented by scenes in a kiddy’s bedroom, a village hall and two lecture theatres. There’s also the MyTube scene, which at one point re-enacts that famous Sex Pistols interview with Bill Grundy.
Director Giles Croft is offering an enjoyable evening of punk, with some nicely loud numbers. But as a piece of theatre it’s very thin. There’s next to no plot development before the interval and precious little afterwards. And there’s extremely slow character revelation throughout.
Alan: John Elkington.
Danny: Mark Jardine.
Gavin: Robin Kingsland.
Penny: Sukie Smith.
Director: Giles Croft.
Designer: Helen Fownes-Davies.
Lighting: Alexandra Stafford.
Sound: Ciaron McKenna.
Musical Director: John Morton.
2009-06-12 00:24:16