ON THE PISTE: Godber, Derby Playhouse, till 17.11.01
Derby
ON THE PISTE: John Godber
Derby Playhouse: Tkts 01332 363275
Runs: 2h 55m, one interval, till 17 November
Review: Rod Dungate, 27 October 2001
Ups and downs as steep as the Austrian mountains, funny and genuinely touching, the play has lost none of its appeal in this revival.
John Godber is a no-nonsense playwright – he gives it to you straight and he gives it to you the way you like it. He is not a man for subtleties – but he has the great knack of reflecting in his comedies the Man and Woman-of-the-street: he does this in a form that has enormous popularity and immediacy.
ON THE PISTE, in this revival at Derby, has lost none of its appeal: in director Hannah Chissick's hands it is bold, tough and at times genuinely moving.
Godber assembles two couples, a young woman temporarily separated from her husband, and a sexy ski instructor who - according to his own assessment of himself – is better than everyone at everything. The ups and downs of the play are as frequent and steep as the Austrian mountains among which the characters practise their skiing. From the moment bimbo Bev (hugely entertainingly played by Zoe Oakes) makes her first snail-pace decent on skis, racing style, the play's robust humour is always bubbling away at the surface.
PISTE has more to offer though, for this is a play about deception (both of self and others). Central to this is Easy-Listening DJ Chris Baxter. Sean McKenzie fills out this character with a manic energy: he is at once a bully, a liar, paranoid, pathetic, chauvinistic, oafish – and always funny. A total prat really, but then all the men in this play are. Baxter's is a terrific performance.
Chissick ensures with the simplicity of the final scene that the characters' growth is not lost in some touching farewells. And the whole takes place in Chris Crosswell's elegant and enjoyable revolving sets.
Cast:
Tony Muller: Gil Darnell
Alison Allan: Liz Izen
Chris Baxter: Sean McKenzie
Bev Ryan: Zoe Oakes
Dave Trueman: Christopher Pizzey
Melissa Grey: Mika Simmons
Director: Hannah Chissick
Designer: Chris Crosswell
Lighting: Alexandra Stafford
Sound: Nick Greenhill
2001-10-28 11:53:19