THE STEFAN GOLASZEWSKI PLAYS To 9 January.

London.

THE STEFAN GOLASZEWSKI PLAYS
by Stefan Golaszewski

Bush Theatre Shepherds Bush Green W12 8QD To 9 January 2010.
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat 8 Jan2.30pm.
no performance 24-28, 31 Dec-1Jan.
Runs 2hr 10min One interval.

TICKETS: 0208743 5050.
www.bushtheatre.co.uk
Review: Carole Woddis 9 December.

Lovely pieces about being in love.
Sometimes a performer comes along who manages to hit the spot with audiences. Stefan Golaszewski is such a one. His solo, Stefan Golaszewski Speaks About A Giirl He Once Loved took Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival by storm last year and ended-up with a run on off-Broadway.

Following that up with a sequel, Stefan Golaszewski Is A Widower, Stefan’s over-riding subject is still love, or rather women. He loves every finger-licking part of them. And he’s a juicy story-teller. He’s also a bit of a nerd, a kind of 21st century everyman, which perhaps accounts for the pleasure audiences get from him.

He’s every ordinary pub bloke’s reflection, from his knitted beige sweater to a white wedding suit that much too small. But he’s also something else. He’s a bloke speaking fifty years from now. And in the second half, he’s become a successful TV actor in The Bill.

So something else is going on here beside the apparent realism; a touch of satire perhaps? You can’t be sure. The humour is light, deadpan and downright naff on occasion.

The curious thing about these plays is that they’re not so much a love affair with language as, say, the early Conor McPherson solo riffs, which dragged you along in their linguistic slipstream as a celebration and wonder at an ordinary bloke falling in love with a gorgeous apparition, having it reciprocated only to have it snatched away.

There is ecstasy, there is self-deprecation and there is the agony of loss and bereavement. Written sometimes at white-hot heat, at others with flat matter-of-factness, this is as immediate an account of what male attraction feels like as you’re likely to find.

As a performer, Stefan doesn’t exactly exude charisma. He just stands there, hands in pockets. Sometimes he brings on a box – there is a heart-stopping moment when he draws out a collection of baby outfits; and another when dozens of boxes are thrown onto the stage representing a desperate attempt to win back love.

An every day story, then. But told with rushing stream of consciousness detail. And as such, compelling.

Cast: Stefan Golaszewski.

Director/Designer: Philip Breen.
Lighting: David Alcorta.
Music: Adam Silverman.

2009-12-11 23:15:45