| Theatre Review
John Jo
By Tom O’Brien, King’s Head Theatre Upper St, Islington
John Jo — written by Sussex-based Irish writer Tom O’Brien
— is the story of a Waterford farmer’s son who goes on the run
and ends up working ‘on the lump’ in ’60s Britain.
The play is a one-act monologue in which John Jo tells the story of his
life.
It is meant to be a play in the great Irish storytelling tradition but
often falls wide of the mark. The main problem with it is that much of
the script sounds like extracts from a diary rather than a play written
for the spoken word.
The piece is not helped by John Jo himself — a dislikeable one-dimensional
character who vents his spleen at numerous other one-dimensional characters,
such as the bullying subbies, the English, his father and the man ‘in
the big house’.
As a result it is hard to feel empathy for his plight. Early on in the
play during a ridiculously melodramatic moment, he cries, seemingly out
of nowhere that “his father never loved him” when he learns
of his death.Instead of feeling sympathy it is hard to stifle the laughter
as the supposed tragic moment pops up from nowhere out of the script.
The same happens when John Jo moons the audience as a gesture of defiance
is more cringeworthy than ‘kiss my ass’.
Actor Tony O’Brien clearly also relishes the role but all too often
the changes in accent and bursts into song required the are beyond him.
With ropey sound effects and dubious stage lighting (O’Brien’s
face was often in shadow) the overall result does not make for a great
play.
However, as a piece of community theatre John Jo does bring to light the
dark side of the construction industry in Britain and for that alone Tom
O’Brien is to be applauded.
As a piece of theatre John Jo has a long way to go, but for people who
endured hard lives working on the buildings, roads and railways of Britain
it may prove a useful vehicle for reminiscence.
catherine jackson
DOLLY WEST’s Kitchen
By Frank McGuinness, Theatro Technis, Camden Town, London NW1 Box office:
020 7226 3633.
Dolly West’s Kitchen is a comedy set in small-town Donegal at the
height of the World War II. The tale describes the emotional havoc caused
by the arrival of three Allied soldiers (two Yanks and a Brit) when they
turn-up one day for supper at Dolly’s table.
Playwright Frank McGuinness takes great delight in unpicking the moral
threads of a 1940s Irish Catholic household as it confronts issues as
varied as marital fidelity, homosexuality and neutrality in the face of
rampant Nazism.
All of which is fertile ground for some witty one-liners, most of which
emanate from Dolly’s sly old mother, who seems to be the greatest
modernising force amongst them.
“Yes, it’s good for you, mackerel,” she says. “So
is a beautiful big black man, but I don’t see many of them about
here.”
But this story goes deeper than comedy, touching on the real tragedies
in ordinary people’s lives, and every character has his or her moment
of madness before the curtain falls.
Much credit must go to the players of the Tower Theatre Company.
There is only one real-life Irish drawl among the lot of them, but you’d
be hard pressed to spot the fakes.
This is a highly enjoyable play that sidesteps the temptation of screaming
a moral message at its audience, except perhaps that life is too short
to be spent avoiding the trickier issues that lurk among the napkins.
David Stanford
See You Next Tuesday
Albery Theatre, St Martin’s Lane, London until January 11.
Box Office: 0870-060-6621.
Pierre Brochant (Nigel Havers) is a wealthy Parisian publisher with a
cruel hobby.
Every Tuesday night he and his friends hold a dinner party where they
invite ‘carefully selected guests’ i.e. people they deem to
be idiots.
The group compete to see who can find the biggest fool and spend the evening
poking fun at their unknowing targets.
Brochant believes he has found a winner in Francois Pignon (Ardal O’Hanlon)
whose life’s passion is making great buildings using matchsticks.
However, the evening lurches out of Brochant’s control when Pignon
inadvertently ruins his plans, relationships and financial status.
The farcical plot keeps the audience happy with a series of toe-curling
mishaps and satisfying twists.
Nigel Havers is excellent as Brochant, poised on the cusp of cruelty and
charm. However it is O’Hanlon who steals the show.
As he bumbles through the evening wreaking havoc and torturing Brochant
with misplaced kindness he is funnier than we have ever seen him before.
But the mix of nationalities is confusing. French, Irish and English elements
are all stirred together without quite blending.
And it’s hard to believe that O’Hanlon is someone who Brochant
(Havers) would ever consider a suitable target.
Overall though, See You Next Tuesday makes for a light, fun night out,
mainly thanks to O’Hanlon.
As the show ended one punter shouted out: “My Hero” to O’Hanlon
on the stage. And in this case it was hard to disagree with him.
AVRIL O’REILLY
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