TAKE A CHANCE ON ME. To 20 December.

London

TAKE A CHANCE ON ME
by Roger Hall

New End Theatre To 20 December 2003
Tue-Sat 8pm Mat Sat & Sun 3.30pm
Runs 2hr 30min One interval

TICKETS: 020 7794 0022
www.newendtheatre.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 20 November

A fine cast play Hall's script for somewhat more than it's amiable worth.Roger Hall sets the clients of Cupid Speed Dating on a sad parade showing the potential for misery in the search for happiness. Approaching middle, or old, age these are Hall's territory.

If only he'd take his humour more seriously. Systems engineer (plumber) Brian claiming any woman's home is on his way if there's the prospect of a snog or a shag. A stereotypical plumber's only one cliché Hall exploits with varying success. The camp am. Dram. director-queen probably has to give way to Gwyneth Strong's tactful attempt to impersonate a Thai bride in the distasteful league. It's a touchy scene, even though it's largely the character stereotyping herself.

There's better Patrick Pearson's timid pharmacist a chance to nip down and fetch some Viagra if needed. And Helen Lederer's primary teacher is convincingly good-hearted, blurting out her secrets instant intimacy the sign of desperate loneliness just as self-respect and raging desire conflict when Joe McGann's fast-operator's got her home.

Dating Agency hosts Strong and Alan Francis fill in the bit-parts of these characters' lives. He does insincere suavity well; she's efficient as an escort (found in the directory between Erosion Control and Event Management, as one of Hall's wittier lines mentions) but shows her mettle as a once-fooled Lothario victim warning his next prey; a rare moment of cold reality.

In this twilight world meeting rarely leads to mating. It's also a neverland, with laptops and paperbacks of Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin, yet the Amadeus Quartet still performing in the Wigmore Hall (it would have been the Festival Hall any time from the 1960s). There are neat ironies, like Georgina Hale's determinedly hedonistic Lorraine surrendering marriage hopes to be a kept woman, only to have her intended keeper die, leaving her nothing.

Bitter financial settlements and resentful children, plus seething revenge and simmering sadness fuel the chancy sometimes risky - dating manoeuvres. All's well-played, from Eric Richard's quietly hopeless ex-bank manager to Candida Gubbins' icily desperate lawyer. But the best scenes wallow amid easy laughs and Justin Greene's efficient direction cannot provide a unified feel for Hall's dating-game cabaret.

The Other Woman: Gwyneth Strong
The Other Man: Alan Francis
Rebecca: Helen Lederer
Brian: Joe McGann
Tim: Patrick Pearson
Lorraine: Georgina Hale
Dan: Eric Richard
Eleanor: Candida Gubbins

Director: Justin Greene
Designer: Sarah-Jane McClelland
Lighting: John Harris
Sound: Shock Productions
Composer: Martin Seager
Choreographer: Iain Stuart Ferguson

2003-11-21 09:13:47