ONE FOR THE ROAD: Russell, Queens Hornchurch 'till 13 April

ONE FOR THE ROAD
by Willy Russell

Queens Theatre Hornchurch til 13 April
Tue - Sat 8pm
Matinee Sat 13 Apr 2.30pm
Signed Performances and Talkback Wed 3 Apr 8pm
Audio Described Performances Sat 13 Apr 2.30pm
No performance Good Friday 29 March

2h. One interval.

TICKETS 01708 443333
Review Danny Braverman 19 March

Beware Willy Russell fans: this play isn't in the same class as Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine.This is a play that takes time to get going. The pace increases gradually, a bit like an old steam train chugging out of a station. But unfortunately, it doesn't ever reach full pelt.

Over a Joni Mitchell soundtrack, the show opens with a slide/home-movie montage touchingly presenting the journey of two couples from hippy youth to settled suburban existence in the eighties. Sadly, the banal and overlong opening exchange undermines this promising start, as Dennis and Pauline Cain (Ben Fox and Ruby Snape) banter about their elevation to the middle-classes and the impact of being resident in a posh new housing estate. The jokes are forced, with contrived turns of phrase embedded in the dialogue - so these early moments are at times worryingly reminiscent of a dodgy sitcom.

However, the play's first gear-change happens with the introduction of the second couple, Jane and Roger Fuller (Wendy Parkin and Julian Harries), particularly with Dennis and Roger's lively re-enactment of a Wogan interview. As the first half closes, the laughs start to come less haltingly, with action taking the place of dialogue as the comic vehicle. This also liberates the actors who are able to work better as an ensemble.

The slightly predictable drunken mist descends during the second half. This gives us an opportunity to glimpse beneath the masks and see the raw predicament of two couples who have been stultified by bourgeois pretension.

Ben Fox is particularly commendable as the bile-ridden Dennis, ranting violently about the triteness of Tupperware, John Denver and ethnic cuisine and Julian Harries is convincing as the slimy philanderer masquerading as new man. Perhaps Wendy Parkin has the hardest job, and doesn't quite pull off the difficult task of making Jane Fuller's internal contradictions believable.

Ultimately, particularly for people like me who are fans of Willy Russell, this play may prove disappointing. It lacks the absorbing narrative and warmth of his most successful shows and even his normally lively wit seems jaded.

Dennis Cain: Ben Fox
Pauline Cain: Ruby Snape
Jane Fuller: Wendy Parkin
Roger Fuller: Julian Harries

Director: Matt Devitt
Designer: Dinah England
Lighting: Paul Kenah

2002-03-22 10:10:53