PRODUCT: WORLD REMIX / WHAT WOULD JUDAS DO? till 3 February
Lomdon
PRODUCT: WORLD REMIX
by Mark Ravenhill
Bush Theatre To 3 February 2007
Runs: 1 hr No interval
Mon – Sat 7.30pm Mat Sat 3pm
and
WHAT WOULD JUDAS DO?
by Stewart Lee
Bush Theatre To 3 February 2007
Runs 1hr No interval
Mon – Sat 9.00pm, Mat Sat 4.30 Sat
TICKETS: 020 7610 4224
www.bushtheatre.co.uk
Review: Harriet Davis, 10 January 2007
Better than the curate’s egg – more good than not good – and some parts very good
Mark Ravenhill opens this double-bill with a searing, typically explicit hour-long monologue, casting himself in the main role. Olivia, (nicely underplayed by Jo Lobban) is a young Hollywood star called to attend a meeting with smooth-talking executive James, who hopes to secure her a role in his latest project.
James’s pitch concerns the unlikely coupling of a lonely, high-society Western woman and a rugged Al-Qaeda terrorist. Following a passionate love affair, the woman becomes involved in a tragic (and somewhat preposterous) suicide mission, with predictably tragic results.
The first forty minutes are excellent. Ravenhill’s writing, at its best, is witty, contemporary and starkly relevant. He introduces his themes effortlessly, and underpins their seriousness with his trademark black humour.
However, this is essentially an hour-long joke. The supposed film-pitch moves from implausible to ridiculous and even within the dubious context of a Hollywood thriller, we find ourselves no longer able to believe in the action. In addition – as is so often the case in Ravenhill’s plays – the characters are inconsistent. James is by turns both assured and uncertain; simultaneously powerful and powerless. Olivia’s position is unclear.
There is no coherent link between this and Stewart Lee’s What Would Judas Do? save humour. Presumably, Lee’s justification for this as theatre rather than stand-up is the self-conscious assertion that he is ‘playing’ the character of Judas. Lee is not playing Judas, but this is thoroughly entertaining stand-up nonetheless.
Lee is naturally amiable, utterly at ease and very funny. Judas himself is portrayed as a precocious child, forever questioning the apparent wisdom of his betters. Jesus, by contrast, is largely inefficient; a bad leader and a poor rebel. His followers are cynical and scheming.
Will Adamsdale is no stranger to one-man shows and directs with authority, making full use of the intimate set. He also inserts a much-needed sense of time, and uses the space imaginatively. Audience participation is minimal but effective, and Lee’s gentle style pays off. By contrast to Product, this is the perfect length; it is also clever, affectionate and poignant.
PRODUCT: WORLD REMIX
James: Mark Ravenhill
Olivia: Jo Lobban
Director: Lucy Morrison
WHAT WOULD JUDAS DO?
Judas: Stewart Lee
Directors: Stewart Lee and Will Adamsdale
for both productions
Lighting/Sound: Mat Ort
2007-01-12 09:56:53