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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Johnny Simple
Verdict: Inheritance comedy drama
Johnny Simple is a drama with inherent comedy. There are 7 actors. It lasts around an hour.
A miserly father has just died. His grown-up children Gilbert, Teresa and Rosie find his will leaves nothing to them - all the money's to be spent on a mausoleum. Their cousin Richard wants to marry local lass Laura, daughter of builder Johnny 'Simple'. Johnny's come for payment for his work, else he'll face debtors' gaol. The death of dad is, all round, an inconvenience. But what if Johnny impersonates the dead miser and dictates another will?
The play is nominally set in London during the Great Fire, but this is neither seen nor particularly relevant. The drama's an old-fashioned fight over a will, familiar territory from Dickens (Bleak House), Robert Louis Stephenson (The Wrong Box, 1892) to American writer John Grisham's novel The Testament (1999), or to anyone who is a member of a family. As ever, the glue is the hatred of one family member for another.
Kevin Drury is a splendidly snarling brother Gilbert, Carol Styles has a lot of fun with spectacularly unpleasant sister Teresa. Jillian George-Lewis delivers a conniving but righteous sister Rosie. Zoë Gardner gives a fine performance as occasionally doe-eyed but mainly combative Laura; and a grave-digger. Tom Sykes gives authority to meek but steadfast cousin Richard; he's also a grave-digger. Christopher Prior's an excellently oily and rumbustious lawyer Benjamin - evoking a hint of Dr Johnson crossed with Rumpole. Gary Ross plays Johnny Simple masterfully, veering from yokel, to ailing patient, to Charley's-Aunt-camp-pantomime-dame.
John Risebero provides an elegant set, exactly sufficient for the drama. The venue, like most fringe venues, is intimate (the actors are 3 feet away from the seats). Katy Darby directs the show in large-theatre style, with loud voices and big gestures. Though wearing on the ears, this gives the play a particular feel. Her clear understanding of the complex script is evident in the clarity with which the story is told, the pace of the telling, and her exposure of the intricate relationships between the characters.
Cast Credits (alpha order): Kevin Drury - Gilbert. Zoë Gardner - Laura, Grave-digger. Jillian George-Lewis - Rosie. Christopher Prior - Lawyer Benjamin. Carol Styles - Teresa. Tom Sykes - Richard, Grave-Digger. Gary Ross - Johnny 'Simple'.
Company Credits: Writers - Nevil Frenkiel, Harold Langshaw. Director - Katy Darby. Designer - John Risebero. Producer - Nevil Frenkiel. Director's Assistant - Angelina Stoyanova. Lighting Designer - Lester Richards. Sound Designer - Matthew Risebero. Set Construction - Will Jackson. Auntie's Portrait by John Risebero. Company - Einekleine Theatre Company. Artistic Director Pentameters Theatre - Léonie Scott-Mathews. Thanks to: Paul Eros, Ben Horslen, Christine Risebero, Lucy McIlmail - Northumberland Arms, Craig - Golden Lion.
END
John Park
reviewed Thursday 11 December 03 / Pentameters Theatre
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
