Reviews for A Fistful of Mondays
A Fistful of Mondays
is very well scripted and choreographed with an excellent
choice of casting, in particular Barry the Barman and Tom Jones
the karaoke singer (no, not that one). The performances from
all 8 actors were flawless, funny and the cast had good
chemistry between them.
My favourite scene was when Barry caught Tom cheating on him with the Munching Mule and storming off in a huff with his plastic cactus (you really have to see it to appreciate it) – a really well scripted scene and the funniest of the show. The subplot running through the play was the loss of the local pub and social club in favour of the cheap chains springing up all over the country, and Barry’s battle to fight the local rival chain to keep the social club open.
The story about love, life and loss was interwoven around the songs and dance routines to usually good effect, however I felt that ‘Annie’s Song’ was a bit wasted being just a filler in the first half, this could have been a powerful dealbreaker song for Tom and Annie but instead it passed almost like background music.
The audience loved the show and were engaged throughout, however the OFS was unbearably hot and I couldn’t believe they had no air conditioning in there (or if so it was extremely poor). People all around were visibly dripping with sweat and it was a credit to the excellent show that nearly everyone stuck it out till the end in support. If the temperature had been more bearable, I think the audience engagement would have been even more enthusiastic.
After seeing this my girlfriends and I would certainly try out a linedancing club if it meant we found our very own Tom there. However, as I pointed out to them, sadly we do live in the real world, but it was a nice evening of escapism.
My favourite scene was when Barry caught Tom cheating on him with the Munching Mule and storming off in a huff with his plastic cactus (you really have to see it to appreciate it) – a really well scripted scene and the funniest of the show. The subplot running through the play was the loss of the local pub and social club in favour of the cheap chains springing up all over the country, and Barry’s battle to fight the local rival chain to keep the social club open.
The story about love, life and loss was interwoven around the songs and dance routines to usually good effect, however I felt that ‘Annie’s Song’ was a bit wasted being just a filler in the first half, this could have been a powerful dealbreaker song for Tom and Annie but instead it passed almost like background music.
The audience loved the show and were engaged throughout, however the OFS was unbearably hot and I couldn’t believe they had no air conditioning in there (or if so it was extremely poor). People all around were visibly dripping with sweat and it was a credit to the excellent show that nearly everyone stuck it out till the end in support. If the temperature had been more bearable, I think the audience engagement would have been even more enthusiastic.
After seeing this my girlfriends and I would certainly try out a linedancing club if it meant we found our very own Tom there. However, as I pointed out to them, sadly we do live in the real world, but it was a nice evening of escapism.
Marie Jones, Daily Information 01/07/09
A feel-good
musical about a line-dancing group has burst onto the Oxford
stage brimming with bouncy Country and Western numbers.
A Fistful of Mondays follows the trials and tribulations of the club who meet at Walbeswick Sports and Social Club every Monday night.
This slightly dysfunctional group provide much comic drama as they fall in love, argue, both lose and gain confidence, forget their teeth and get diahorrea.
Throughout the action the cast entertain with line-dancing routines and rousing classic songs from artists such as Johnny Cash and Shania Twain.
They clearly enthused their audience into clapping along and whopping in all the right places - despite the tropical heat in the theatre.
Barry (Steve Hay), the club’s barman, is a grumpy Scot determined to get the punters to buy drinks at his club rather than at his rival the nearby Munchin’ Mule pub.
Hay plays the witty, sardonic and astute bar-tender in a brilliantly deadpan way, making Barry one of the most comic and memorable characters.
Sam Mansfield plays Tom the reluctant lover who can’t dance with authentic gruffness.
There are some great vocals, particularly from Sophie (Pat Giles) when she sings Patsy Cline’s Crazy.
James Card is highly entertaining to watch as the group’s token flagrantly gay member. Card plays the proudly effeminate dancer with style and flair.
The cast’s costumes, cowboy outfits of course, are used to create atmosphere and comedy.
The show is very light-hearted and fun and it is the singing and dancing that really make it.
At times the dialogue seems a little slow and arguably much could be cut to make the piece more snappy and less repetitive of the same jokes.
However there are some very funny lines and scenarios which provoke laughter from the audience throughout the show.
To sum up, A Fistful of Mondays is a fun night out and will especially appeal to Country and Western fans or line-dancing lovers.
It runs until Saturday at the Old Fire Station.
A Fistful of Mondays follows the trials and tribulations of the club who meet at Walbeswick Sports and Social Club every Monday night.
This slightly dysfunctional group provide much comic drama as they fall in love, argue, both lose and gain confidence, forget their teeth and get diahorrea.
Throughout the action the cast entertain with line-dancing routines and rousing classic songs from artists such as Johnny Cash and Shania Twain.
They clearly enthused their audience into clapping along and whopping in all the right places - despite the tropical heat in the theatre.
Barry (Steve Hay), the club’s barman, is a grumpy Scot determined to get the punters to buy drinks at his club rather than at his rival the nearby Munchin’ Mule pub.
Hay plays the witty, sardonic and astute bar-tender in a brilliantly deadpan way, making Barry one of the most comic and memorable characters.
Sam Mansfield plays Tom the reluctant lover who can’t dance with authentic gruffness.
There are some great vocals, particularly from Sophie (Pat Giles) when she sings Patsy Cline’s Crazy.
James Card is highly entertaining to watch as the group’s token flagrantly gay member. Card plays the proudly effeminate dancer with style and flair.
The cast’s costumes, cowboy outfits of course, are used to create atmosphere and comedy.
The show is very light-hearted and fun and it is the singing and dancing that really make it.
At times the dialogue seems a little slow and arguably much could be cut to make the piece more snappy and less repetitive of the same jokes.
However there are some very funny lines and scenarios which provoke laughter from the audience throughout the show.
To sum up, A Fistful of Mondays is a fun night out and will especially appeal to Country and Western fans or line-dancing lovers.
It runs until Saturday at the Old Fire Station.
Ros Miles, Oxford Times, July 2, 2009
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