THE DERBY MCQUEEN AFFAIR. To 10 July.

York

THE DERBY MCQUEEN AFFAIR
by Nicholas Lane

York Theatre Royal Studio To 10 July 2004
Tue-Sat 7.45pm
Runs 1hr 55min One interval

TICKETS: 01904 623568
www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 25 June

A genial scam worked out with deft comic style, yet which could go further.There's a blank, bland quality to the smiling face looking out from programme and brochure for this production. No wonder; Derby McQueen is a manufactured name (all is explained, neatly enough) and a computer-generated picture. 'She' is a scam, a money-making wheeze and one of the quality's of Nicholas Lane's play is that arch-wheezer Tom stays so sympathetic.

His innocent companions are pitiably naive and only co-conspiriting heavy Dave seems ripe for come-uppance. There again, he's a journalist, and therefore a traitor to his calling in knowingly pedalling lies. Instead of being, for instance, a loyal hack in the pay of a venal proprietor.

The idea for it all comes to impoverished ex-student Tom from a chance comment by charity-collector and unworking actress girlfriend Julie (Beverley Denim ably turning in one of those northern witty performances common in modern comic writing).

Having set things going, Lane doesn't keep up the pace. There's a momentary veer into post-Ortonesque farce when Dave arrives to discover Tom and flat-sharing ex-student kebab lover Bob in an 'it isn't what you think' pose.

But much more, the plot doesn't offer the spiralling, desperate lunacy necessary to keep the scam going in the glare of growing publicity coming their way as the charity contributions (supposedly to fund a seriously-ill angel-child's hospital treatment) rise to giddy 'phone number figures.

TV screens keep giving running totals, pounded out by the sound of an anachronistic old typewriter. These screens serve as a link to the mass-media celebrity mindset the play satirises. Poor little Derby's just what the public wants to make it unloose its purse-strings and credit card details - a single, photogenic, smiling victim who makes us all feel gooey and good. It's surprising none of the group comes up with the defence they're providing a service in letting people enjoy the emotional journey such giving provides.

There's a neat line in dialogue, and Eamonn Fleming gives his easily stereotyped fast-food fatty a well-balanced diet of slow-wits and good sense. Zach Lee keeps the scam going and the excuses coming in Tim Welton's efficiently dispatched if rather monotone production.

Lee's plausible enough, and has the majority of occasional straight-to-audience comment (there's an embarrassingly naive, self-justifying example allotted to Dave) which he handles with moral equanimity.

Tom:Zach Lee
Bob: Eamonn Fleming
Julie: Beverley Denim
Dave: James Lauren

Director: Tim Welton
Designer: Angela Simpson
Lighting: Judith Cloke

2004-06-27 16:11:09