MOUSE till 5 July.

MOUSE: David Cooksey.
Old Joint Stock, Birmingham.
0121 200 0946, www.oldjointstocktheatre.co.uk
Runs: 1h 45m, one interval, till 5 July.
Review: Rod Dungate, 3 July 2008

Serious play in Birmingham’s smart pub theatre.

David Cooksey’s one-man play is a serious exploration of a much misunderstood illness, agoraphobia.

We see the world through Mouse; he lives in a grubby bed-sit and worries about making even short trips out – to the shop, the doctor and (of course) the Job Centre. As he talks to us he reveals the form the illness takes for him – an illness he even refuses at first to name . . . preferring to call it The Fear. He explains, in disturbing detail, the debilitating effects of his panic attacks. These attacks that come upon him suddenly and leave him feeling sick and helpless.

We warm to Mouse in Stuart Horobin’s performance. He’s a cheery soul in his bed-sit, which comes as a bit of a surprise. But we learn, bit by bit, how the illness has destroyed his life – he loses his girl-friend, his job, his freedom . . . and even his television.

The play is not devoid of humour. I particularly like the picture Mouse creates for us of the eccentric German psychiatrist. I like even more that the psychiatrist, over time, is able to help Mouse.

Which gives us a brighter second half. Mouse is preparing to leave the flat to start a new life in a house he’s bought with his sister.

Horobin’s is a detailed and engrossing performance; he confidently portrays the ups and downs, but a slightly more relaxed performance would enable us to be drawn further in. Ian Craddock directs with clarity and empathy.

My only quibble is with the ending which I would urge Cooksey to reconsider. As it stands at the moment, Mouse is left with no lasting journey through the play nor any hope, which I’m sure is not what the writer would wish.

Mouse: Stuart Horobin.

Directed by: Ian Craddock.

2008-07-04 09:23:55