The Lion and Unicorn Theatre, London
****
Cynicism, sex and scandal: The Sun, take note. Augustine
Early, an American journalist (Jonathan
Chambers) talks us through his sleazy and opportunistic crawl to fame. A despicable
premeditated trajectory, he manipulates any surprises to his advantage giving
no regard to basic human decency. This one-man show churns us through an
explicit series of deliciously disgraceful events.
However, he has so little room for redemption it becomes sluggish
in parts. Right off the bat we are encouraged to revel in despising, nay loathing this character. He writes an
article putting a rapist in good light and, by heavy implication, denounces the
victim. Meanwhile in his personal life he tricks and sleeps with several women
then proceeds to be extremely graphic about his exploits. So: not exactly man
of the year. Still, his tongue-in-cheek attitude and incredible self-awareness have
enough merit to keep us raptured. Chambers took a while to settle into the
character, but pulled it off very convincingly and the only downside was the somewhat
wandering accent in places that seemed to take us on a full tour of America.
The text lends itself to fantastic comedic moments; some of
which are captured, others sadly undersold. One cannot help but feel that if
the comedy was more pronounced and the imitation of other characters more lively,
then the poignant moments would have more gravitas. The fragile memory (and
rare display of humanity) of falling in love with his girlfriend while eating
ice-cream in bed together was beautifully simple but just fell short of its
full potential.
The minimalist set in a black box theatre is a good fit for
such rich stories and enables Chambers to really engage with the audience by
addressing us directly. The staging is fluid and simple while injecting
seamless variety into the tempo. There was quite a full and varied audience
(age-wise) which was lovey to see, although be warned this is definitely PG-13
material. The venue itself is above a lovely bright pub, done up in a very
modern style. Although thankfully, unlike many pub-theatres, there was no
problem with sound proofing.
Overall it is an interesting plotline with smooth
transitions in stories and enough comic appeal to keep you gently chuckling
throughout the evening. Worth a watch but it would benefit from a few
adjustments.
This production runs until 24 November 2012.
For more information: http://www.giantolive.com/theatheist.html
@GiantOlive
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