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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Bouncers and Shakers
Dudley Little Theatre
Netherton Arts Centre
****
DUDLEY Little Theatre (DLT) is in its
62nd year of performing, and this production, one of four a year it
stages, was a shrewd choice. Written by John Godber in 1977, it has been subject to a number of revisions. Godber is now claimed to be the third most performed English playwright after Shakespeare and Ayckbourn, a tribute both to the quality of his writing, and his popularity. This production incorporated the companion piece
Shakers, co-written with his wife Jane, as the first Act, with Bouncers
presented as Act Two. In both pieces the four women, and four men,
respectively, assume multiple roles, accents, and the opposite gender to
tell their stories, but Shakers is more than “Bouncers for Girls” and
serves both as a convincing stand- alone story, and effective
counterpoint to its older brother They also utilise the effective dramatic device
of opening and closing their stories as an ensemble, speaking in rhyming
verse, frequently addressing the audience directly in Brechtian style. Shakers itself is a
late 80s trendy cocktail brasserie, providing a platform for the four
waitresses to tell their story, arriving on stage to the Human League’s
Don’t You Want Me,
apt for both the time and the opening line. The recreation of the era, and place, is
painfully accurate. Bored floor staff struggle to complete their shift
as awkward, lewd, aloof, groping, rude customers impede the smooth
running of their evening. The cross-gender characterisations are
dramatically even more effective for the women, than the men. For the
men, seeing big burly bouncers affect feminine mores is comic in itself,
sometimes impeding the message in the script. For the women, physically,
this is less so, particularly as producer Lyndsey Parker has them
androgynously dressed in trousers, waistcoats and flats. Julie Bywater,
as Carol, captured male mannerisms particularly well. Bouncers is set inside and outside Mr Cinders
nightclub. My recollection is that every town had one, offering
belligerent doormen, desperate males, indifferent women, and disgusting
toilets. Comedians Hale & Pace had huge success with a
routine involving doormen, and the script anticipates their
interpretation, as the Inbetweeners television series echoes the base,
coarse reality of men behaving badly on a night out. John Lucock’s Lucky Eric is the pick of the
bunch, ageing, careworn, philosophical, but ready to rumble at a
moment’s notice. The scene where the bouncers, as women, dance around
their handbags is a hoot, but the dramatic tension is sustained by the
premise of those wanting a good time versus those stopping them. If you remember Dragonara Casinos, Chelsea Girl,
C&A and chicken in a basket, you will wallow in the nostalgia which this
production faithfully, and lovingly recreates. The dialogue is funny,
authentic, quick fire and poignant, relying for its appeal on the
gritty, amusing realities of a night out clubbing delivered by a strong
cast supported by a sympathetic period soundtrack and a simple but
effective stage set from Fred Waller. Bouncers and Shakers runs until Saturday 12th
March. Come and see this production- if the door staff will let you in
of course. Gary Longden 09-03-16
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