UK Theatre Network

Fame is a drug. It’s a worse drug than drugs

Tabloid journalists Greg and Liz pose as John and Jane, employees of a prestigious private bank. Over several glasses of champagne accompanied by ample flattery the pair offers TV star Barry, aka „Mr Saturday Night“ a lucrative fee to speak at a corporate hospitality event. Barry greedily takes the bait relishing the thought of outsmarting his agent on this deal. The next scene begins with the sound of a cash register being opened and flash lights flashing. Barry is sharing his life philosophy with Jane. He confesses that he is tired of fame and sees most of his fans as lobotomised wankers. Barry actually always wanted to be a school teacher to help people but he turned out to be a famous star. Now he yearns for normality, dullness even – a phrase he uses to come on to Jane which does not have quite the desired effect.  To overcome Jane’s resistance Barry then tries to coax her into taking cocaine – unaware that this whole encounter is being filmed and will later be used to blackmail him for the sake of a sensational story.

Winner of the Evening Standard, Olivier and Critics Circle awards for Best Play, Joe Penhall is the writer of Blue/Orange which ran at the National Theatre and subsequently in the West End. This is the first major revival of Dumb Show since its premiere in 2004 at the Royal Court. The main theme of Penhall’s dark comedy is the exploitation of people’s misery for entertainment - the "tabloidification" of popular culture and the media. Penhall asks why we as a society have become so obsessed with celebrity and the ‘Circus Maximus’ of destroying those who we once adored. Today there seem to be four phases of celebrity drama: adulation, degradation, rehabilitation and, possibly, redemption – as in the case of Jane Goody who suddenly was regarded as a wonderful human being due to her fight with terminal cancer. A celebrity who is going to remain one must keep offering new personal drama to feed the ravenous media appetite. And those who are not so inclined fight a constant battle to guard their right to privacy against the claim of so-called public interest.  

Sanjeev Bhaskar is brilliant as the self-important but hapless Barry. Dexter Fletcher and Emma Cunniffe give impressive performances as the scheming and manipulative journalists in this fine production aptly directed by Stephen Unwin.

1 – 27 April 2010

See Tickets - 0871 230 1552

The Rose Theatre

24-26 High Street, Kingston

www.rosetheatrekingston.org