NO SWEAT: Withers, Bham Rep: till 4 May

Birmingham

NO SWEAT: Lloyd Withers
Bham Rep: The Door: Tkts 0121 236 4455
Runs: 1h 45m, till 4 May 2002
Review: Rod Dungate, 15th April 2002

Timely, slice-of-working-life play: human, witty and a great ear for aggressive and macho workplace dialogueLloyd Withers's debut play is a timely, if unfashionable, slice-of-working-life type play. Set in the transparently disguised Longbridge car plant in Birmingham, it documents the take-over of an inefficient (and therefore failing) car factory by an 'Asian consortium' and the struggle of the workforce to overcome sweat-shop conditions imposed by the new owners. Throwing present trends to the wind, Withers bravely treads an ever more unfashionable path by extolling the virtues of a workforce's solidarity and their ability to win through in the end with the aid of the union.

But Withers's play is no simplistic piece of old-style agitprop from the 70s and 80s. His characters are rounded and engaging and he is as interested in the people of his play as much as he is interested in his political message. Moreover, there is a most unsettling feeling that he, the writer, knows that the workers' victory is small and uncertain – and his central character, Doc, the shop-steward, knows it too.

Withers has an impressive ear for the working man's dialogue – with its sharp and aggressive macho wit and casual racism and sexism. A language strangely enriched by the telling of the odd dirty story – Johan Myers tells a cracker! In the centre of Withers' play we see how people can be torn by their desire for decent working conditions and their fear of losing their job. As Jamaican Earl (Johan Myers gives a swaggering and witty performance) says: 'I've got a mortgage – it's the first proper job I ever had.' Withers is right to remind us of this: the desperate situation faced by workers in the face of redundancy – never faced by those at the top who will always find a cushion somewhere to soften their fall.

Much of the political weight is carried on the shoulders of Tom McGovern as Doc. You never doubt the character's seriousness, but McGovern, holding back throughout, enables us to share the character's awareness of the sheer utter lack of joy in life. As he points out, there's one thing worse than a job on the track (read conveyor belt) and that's no job at all. The character who grows through it all is Floyd (Craig Blake). Your heart goes out to him as he sets forth on his political maiden speech, but you fear for his naiveté too.

Michael Taylor has come up with an ingenious design for The Door – indeed, as you wait for the lights to go down you while away several moments wondering how he gets it all in. And it enables Angus Jackson, who directs, to keep the whole thing moving at a cracking pace.

Cast:
Doc: Tom McGovern
Earl: Johann Myers
Nas: Bharti Patel
Floyd: Craig Blake
Devlin: David Kennedy
Turbo: Giles Ford
Zippy: Bark Bagnall

Director: Angus jackson
Design: Michael Taylor
Lighting: Hartley T A Kemp

2002-04-16 09:39:19