Rank *** TNT
One of the first rules of being a theatre critic is: 'Don't be late'. When a police diversion turned a 30-minute journey into a 90-minute gridlock, however, there wasn’t much I could do except sneak a quick interval catch-up with a copy of the script. Luckily, though, the discursive nature of the first scene meant that it didn’t take long before Fishamble’s entertaining production of Robert Massey’s new comic thriller had sucked me into the world of unpaid debts, shady dealings and Dublin taxi drivers., a world where women (or the absence of them) are an unseen but influential presence.
Once a teacher, now earning a living behind the wheel, vegetarian Carl’s weight has spiralled out-of-control along with his gambling habit since the death of his wife. He owes thousands, but it’s casino owner and violent gangster Jack (Bryan Murray) who’s the most immediate problem. He wants his money and he wants it now.
There are good performances all round as Carl’s taxi-driving mates, (Eamonn Hunt as his reformed father-in-law George, who has stocked up on a lifetime’s supply of special offer loo rolls, John Lynn as the aptly named ‘Two in the Bush’ who just doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut and his trousers zipped), prove their solidarity and pay Jack and his dim-witted, cricket-bat wielding son Fred (Luke Griffin) a conciliatory visit.
The writing could be more focussed, but the rambling dialogue, which often seems to go off at a tangent, rather suits this depiction of characters in serious danger of completely losing their way.
One of the first rules of being a theatre critic is: 'Don't be late'. When a police diversion turned a 30-minute journey into a 90-minute gridlock, however, there wasn’t much I could do except sneak a quick interval catch-up with a copy of the script. Luckily, though, the discursive nature of the first scene meant that it didn’t take long before Fishamble’s entertaining production of Robert Massey’s new comic thriller had sucked me into the world of unpaid debts, shady dealings and Dublin taxi drivers., a world where women (or the absence of them) are an unseen but influential presence.
Once a teacher, now earning a living behind the wheel, vegetarian Carl’s weight has spiralled out-of-control along with his gambling habit since the death of his wife. He owes thousands, but it’s casino owner and violent gangster Jack (Bryan Murray) who’s the most immediate problem. He wants his money and he wants it now.
There are good performances all round as Carl’s taxi-driving mates, (Eamonn Hunt as his reformed father-in-law George, who has stocked up on a lifetime’s supply of special offer loo rolls, John Lynn as the aptly named ‘Two in the Bush’ who just doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut and his trousers zipped), prove their solidarity and pay Jack and his dim-witted, cricket-bat wielding son Fred (Luke Griffin) a conciliatory visit.
The writing could be more focussed, but the rambling dialogue, which often seems to go off at a tangent, rather suits this depiction of characters in serious danger of completely losing their way.
Tricycle, Kilburn High Rd, NW6 (020-7328 1000). Until November 29. £10-£20
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