Professional Help is a kind of comedy sitcom. The 'Presents' bit is like an episode title – so people can go to the Camden Fringe and see Professional Help Presents Boredom (Etcetera Theatre from 2 August 08), and get a new slant on the Mentor Centre, which is where the four characters work.

The Mentor Centre can only very charitably be described as a centre for holistic healing (it is in fact a brothel), but that's what new receptionist Veronica (Collette Winter) thinks it is – at least at first. It's possible to understand why. Lucy Logan (Deborah Wastell) is obsessed with all things alternative, describes herself as an intimate therapist - and does it matter if her Tarot cards have become mixed up with a Star Wars pack? Quite how Daleks and nuns (a lot of nuns) get to feature so strongly, is not quite clear, but Lady P (Rebecca Windsor) wants to become one, and gets to go off for an interview (on a pretend horse). While she's doing that, Angela (Naomi Cooper-Davis) is outside exchanging insults with another lady of the cloth.

There's nothing deep or alarming about all of this. It's confusing at first, but best to go with the flow and get wafted along. The frustrating thing is that all of the actors at odd moments show how good they can be, but as a showcase for their talent, the script lets them down a bit. Collette Winter as the down-market nun interviewing Lady P is a great piece of understatement for example, and there are some very funny moments and some good jokes, but sometimes it seems that the wackiness is just there for effect.

Whether there can be a comedy about the sex trade is another thing. Some of the more innocent perversions (dressing up, playing former American President Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) and former UK Prime Minister Thatcher) may be fun, but there's a darker side to all this which is all but ignored. The one exception comes when Angela is criticised for not getting close enough to her clients in her appraisal, at which point she not unreasonably argues that since she lets all and sundry have sex with her all day, they couldn't get much closer. Maybe it's being churlish, but it would be great to be able to see more clearly how talented and how funny these actors can be.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Naomi Cooper-Davis - Angela. Deborah Wastell - Lucy Logan. Rebecca Windsor - Lady P. Collette Winter - Veronica Drake.

Company Credits: Writers - Cast & Roy Butlin. Director - Cast. Designer - Cast & Dave Cooper. Lighting/Sound - Damian Robertson. Producer - Cast. Company - Professional Help.

END

(c) Michael Spring 2008

reviewed Thursday, 19 June 2008 / Canal Café Theatre

Professional Help Presents Boredom is at Camden Fringe (www.camdenfringe.org) 2-4 August 08 at 21:00 (1:00). Rebecca Windsor and Naomi Cooper-Davis are in Becky & Naomi: Brainwashed at Camden Fringe 08, 9-12 August 08 at 19:30 (1:00)

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

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