SECRETS COCK TAVERN THEATRE

With the enticing title of Secrets and publicity that promised ‘explosive drama,’ I was all set for an exciting night out at the latest play at the Cock Tavern Theatre. However this rather tame and unfocused contribution offers little in the way of startling confessions or dramatic originality.

Created by Flexible Productions, eight actors reveal their own, true-life secrets through devised enactments. Amongst those unravelling their inner-most shames are a traumatised woman revisiting her sadistic relationship with a boyfriend, a closet queen, a supposedly reformed bully and a questionable victim of sexual abuse. Apart from Helen Briscoe’s disturbing revelations it’s all a bit timid, confused and ultimately shallow. In fact there are the secrets which are so vaguely wafted about that’s it hard to actually pin-point what they actually are.

This awkward effort lets down the usual high standard of work that the Cock has consistently produced in the past. The writing is all over the place, contrived and clumsily structured with some scenes adding little to the storyline or development of the characters. Indeed the only revelation this play really offers is the ability of the exceptionally skilled cast to create engaging, truthful performances despite being in a production that under Danielle Coleman’s messy direction, looks like a drama school creation. This further is emphasised by a bricolage of victim headlines glued onto a cheap looking backdrop as the centre piece for the set.
Helen Briscoe is exceptional in all her roles, James Dutton convincing as the bully and a suspected victim, Andrew Cleave very watchable as the put-upon psychologist and Shireen Walton adds some equally comic and moving moments to the play.
The telling of secrets have been the basis for many a successful drama. This is not one of them.
OLIVER VALENTINE
www.cocktaverntheatre.com

THREE MINUTE HERO                    COCK TAVERN THEATRE

 

A three minute hero is a singer who connects with a whole generation of music fans with a breakthrough number that has a universal message. Phil Setren’s, new play of the same title is based on a promoter’s dream to find such a talent, and explores the clash of the commercial hit making music machine with Muslim cultural beliefs and art.

Dave is an aspiring music promoter who follows his very slim copy of ‘How To Make It In Music,’ guide to the word. He hires a girl band called Hot Goddess, who fail to make the grade but provide him with a big music industry learning curve. He then meets a young Muslim singer called Ash who is in the queue at the X Factor auditions. Simon Cowell’s team fail to see any ability in Ash, but Dave sees his potential and becomes his promoter. All is going well until Ash’s traditionalist brother Raz objects to Ash selling out to the commercial western market and it’s ‘corrupt’ values.

The first half of the play is a rather predictable tale of promoter creates untalented girl band, the girls fall out and the band collapses. Despite strong performances from the actresses and the occasional funny line, the tired storyline and uninspired writing offers little originality. It is not until the second half with arrival of Ash and his brother that the dialogue really comes alive, and dramatic tension is created. Indeed the writing in the second half feels so much more advanced, that it is hard to believe it has been written by the same author.

With the themes in the latter half of the play, Setren has so much original material that this potentially could be a whole drama on it’s own.

Julie Osman’s capable direction keeps the play moving, and there is great sound design by Matt Lee Newby.

Paul Egan is perfectly cast as the eternally optimistic Dave, and Ramanvir Grewal and Anil Kumar are compelling as the brothers.

Three Minute Hero runs at the Cock Tavern Theatre until 14^th November.

                                                                                                             OLIVER VALENTINE                                                                                      

It's "just another day at the office", or so the flyer says, and so I am, of course, delayed by the fabulous London Underground. But, through a mixture of semi-desperation and pure adrenalin, I make it to the Old Red Lion with minutes to spare, and bless the fact that the next hour or so will not be too exciting or thought-provoking or even interesting. I should have ample time to get my breath back and relax. It is, after all, "just another day at the office...phone calls to be returned, deals to be finalised...clients to be taken out to lunch". Or so the flyer says. I really should have thought this through more clearly. No one is going to write a play that is actually like this, unless of course it is designed to aid restless audience members to catch up on forty winks. Which it isn't.

 

The story, based on an original meeting, is straightforward - a day in the life of a literary agent (Hamish Clark) who has just one quick meeting to get through with an author (Stephen Kennedy) whose latest book, the agent thinks, is not quite up to scratch. But right from the start there are problems, for the agent that is. The author has decided to blackmail him into selling his book using some personal photographs of the agent as collateral - and that's just for starters. Grippingly dark and achingly funny, at times 'The Agent' reminds me very much of the hit comedy 'The Office', but not quite so straightforward. Martin Wagner, the actual author, has brought together an almost perfect, if not seamless, representation of the subtle power-shifts that can occur between an artist and their agent, and shows us what can happen - there can only be one winner.

 

In this case, however, I felt that there really were no losers. The audience were entranced by some powerhouse performances, and even the occasional London interruption (sirens and so on), did not hinder the many laughs that accompanied the bubbly atmosphere. Hamish Clark was fantastic as the slightly jaded agent who just wants an easy life, finding humour in the darkest of places and the perfect foil for Stephen Kennedy’s neurotically desperate author who just wants to be published. The two of them, while at times completely opposed, seem totally at home together, and right at home in their adopted personas too. Although, for their sake, I hope that they are not actually quite so like this in their own lives! The Old Red Lion is a great venue, and easy to find, so there’s no excuse for not seeing this great new play.

 

‘The Agent’ runs at the Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington, at 7.30 pm Tuesday through Saturday, and at6 pm on Sundays – until March 24^th. Tickets are £12 (£10 Concessions)

 

For more information, or to book tickets, call the Box Office on 0207-837-7816 or visit www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk