Men of Monsters is a new play by a new writer and it's a comedy. It is built around an idea and, like many good comedies, a serious one. At the same time as the two world superpowers tremble on the brink of war during the Cuba missile crisis in 1962, a parallel event - the making of a Godzilla vs King Kong movie - is taking place in Hollywood. In portraying this, the concept must have been to make some telling points about human frailty, the futility of war and the nature of principles, at the same time as making audiences laugh.

The idea might well have been a good one (and might still be) had more thought gone into the way movies get made, the characters involved and the way the plot develops. As it is, it does have some good lines, and probably the cast have a lot of fun playing it. Mostly though, Men of Monsters is slapstick but with a critical shortage of thrown pies. There are a lot of surprises, it's true, but these tend to be unfortunate. Mostly too, the characters are stereotypes (femme fatale actress, hapless director, efficient secretary, unpleasant star) and the script is often unsatisfactory in the scarcity of its ideas.

That's not to say that there aren't some efficient performances, and everyone tries hard. But there are a lot of buts, most notably about the credibility of the production. It slips slowly away as the script goes everywhere possible, without really putting a toe on planet Earth.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Stephen Connery-Brown - George. Sam Donnelly - Mick. Natalie Imlay - Claire. Adrian Lloyd - Willis. Duncan Thomas - Brian. Jeremy Tiang - Hauro. Holly Walters - Sally.

Company Credits: Writer - Matt Borgatti. Director - James Blakey. Technical Operator - uncredited. Stage Manager - Tanya Sharma. Photographer - Ayesha Sowani. Press - Flo Buckeridge. Producer - Flo Buckeridge. Company - Goblin Productions. Website - www.goblin-productions.com.

END

(c) Michael Spring 2009

Reviewed Thursday 26 March 09 / Hen & Chickens, London, UK

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com