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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Paint Over
Verdict: Energetic farce
London - Blue Elephant - 13 Apr - 7 May 05
This modern farce by playwright Antonio Ribeiro is set in the office of crooked spin-doctor John Riggs. Employing physical comedy and strong theatricality, Paint Over parodies the avarice and moral repugnance behind the scenes of commercial media.
The set is functional. A large table creates a central playing space, while doors on three walls allow for peek-a-boo comedy sequences. A cheap-looking portrait of Riggs covers a wall-mounted safe. Filing cabinets, coffee supplies and liquor bottles complete the picture.
Paint Over opens with a cartoonish game of hide and seek, cleverly choreographed by director David Mercatali. It’s between a ski-masked intruder (Babatunde Disu) and Riggs’s office staff - Tracy Barker (Theresa Aldridge) and George Bailey (a well-rounded performance by Geoff Aymer).
The co-workers dash about their work - forcing the foiled thief to hide in, under, and against almost everything on stage to avoid detection.
The pace is set for the rest of the play - which brims with gags and Keystone-Cop slapstick. Any social message intended soon takes a back seat to rapid-fire foolery.
Riggs (Matthew Hendrickson), manages to screw over just about every other character in the play. He records his client’s dirty secrets and sells them to the tabloids, passes over his best friend for promotion, and shamelessly employs his mother in law, (subtlety portrayed by Ida Goldapple) as janitorial staff to keep costs down.
Riggs is so spineless and impotent that, when the tables are finally turned by his cunning wife Margaret (a commanding portrayal by Vanessa Jane Gray), it’s hard not to feel bad for the guy. Especially since all the other characters turn out to be just as dishonest and reprehensible.
Occasionally the gags can be heavy-handed and pander for laughs – like the delivery of a toilet-bowl on stage for no apparent reason. Reliance on props to create comedy becomes laboured and often slow down the action. Tonight’s best scenarios are invariably the simplest.
At its best Paint Over is contagiously energetic and delightfully absurd. There are inspired moments, such as when defamed MP Richard Dennis (a hilariously quirky performance by Harold Saks) attempts to evade paparazzi by donning a giant dog costume – priceless.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Tracy Barker - Theresa Aldridge. George Bailey - Geoff Aymer. Thief, Delivery man, Waiter - Babatunde Disu. Mrs Drenka - Ida Goldapple. Margaret Riggs - Vanessa Jane Gray. John Riggs - Matthew Hendrickson. Richard Dennis MP - Harold Saks.
Company Credits: Writer/Set Designer - Antonio Ribeiro. Director - David Mercatali. Lighting Designer - Babatunde Disu. Set Construction - Tom Beeston. Costumes & Props - Jade Moore. Press & PR - Jasmine Cullingford.
END
(c) Sarah Shavel 2005
reviewed Friday 15 April 05 / Blue Elephant
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
