Theatre in Wales

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Dead serious, dead funny!

At the Torch

Torch Theatre- Dead Funny , Sherman Theatre Cardiff , July 20, 2006
At the Torch by Torch Theatre- Dead Funny You would expect a play in which the smart lounge diner setting, executed with usual aplomb by Sean Crowley, of gynaecologist Richard that has giant pictures of Tony Hancock, Tommy Trinder, Sid James, Eric Morecambe, Frankie Howard and Benny Hill peering through the walls and is prologued by extracts from Carry On films to be, well dead funny! That it certainly was and in a bawdy and beautiful manner that you would associate with formentioned comedy team. But it was much more than that; expressing at times some of the deepest and most sensitive feelings of human anxiety with a most moving and captivating technique.

Now back to the fun and games! Not long after the play opens Richard, whose libido seems to have completely deflated has stripped to the buff and his wife, Eleanor, to bare essentials. She is so desperate for physical connection and to become pregnant that she confesses later in the play that, on a baby sitting excursion she has held the crying friend’s baby to her own breast comforting both herself and the baby. It was a brave move on the part of multi award winning writer, Terry Johnson to bring such diverse territory into the one play. Torch Theatre Artistic Director, Peter Doran has been equally brave with this production. There must be a strong temptation to rush the play and hammer the robust humour for all its worth. Whilst no punches are pulled in the hugely laughable comic moments, Doran lets the play take its time so we really get to know and see beneath the surface of all the sad and complex characters.

For the moment Eleanor and Richard are trying to bring the spice back into their life by means of a sex instructional video, again they take their time, as instructed, until Eleanor is about to go in for the kill with her hand-massage and just as she gently handles his p...., the phone rings. Benny Hill has died. Clothes are respectably replaced. Richar, along with his friend Brian and neighbours Nick and Lisa are members of the dead Comedians Society. A celebration for the life of Benny Hill is arranged.

Lisa arrives early and over the back of the sofa we soon realise that Richard’s libido has by no means run out of steam but has been pointing in Lisa’s direction all this time and he has lost all real interest in Eleanor. After all she does despise all this nonsense about dead comedians. But she has decided to co-operate for tonight. There are times when you do wonder if you are watching the same play. The cast changes so swiftly and deftly from portraying sad and disturbed human beings to top flight comedy performances and this is what marks this production a winner.

Liam Tobim leads a Morecambe and Wise sketch complete with black rimmed glasses, that it is hard to believe that this is the same actor confessing his impotence with such sincerity to Richard later and that he cannot be the father of his child and we know that it is probably Richard’s but we later learn that Lisa is having another affair and that it is suspected that she is the illegitimate daughter of Sid James and then Frankie Howard dies!

As Nick’s wife Lynn Seymour does dumb blond and caring mother with equal command and compulsion. As Eleanor and Richard, Rebecca Wingate and Richard Nichols are challenged by a wide range of emotions and attitudes and again, like all the cast, whilst they are always there as actors they play both their comedy and their strong sincere moments with equal conviction. Acting honours for the evening must go to Ken Oxtoby whose Brian ‘comes out’ towards the end of the play and whilst he is up there with the others, in berry and duster coat comedy, he creates such an affectionate character that he had many in the audience sighing for him and that’s not only the men. A man full of kindness and compassion for his fellows but at a loss to find comfort in himself. We are all a mass of contradiction and between them writer Terry Johnson and director Peter Doran have given us a glorious celebration of most of them. Dead serious, dead funny!

Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan

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