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Review by David Munro
ANY play which has been successful in the West End, and then
goes on tour, carries with it a lot of baggage, not the least
of which is, if the original cast are not available, the question
is: "Can it measure up to the original?"
This is very pertinent to The Play What I Wrote, as it
was written by two comedians for themselves so that any other
comedians taking over the roles have not only to obliterate the
memories of their predecessors, but also adapt their styles to
fit the tailored roles, and I am afraid, the answer is in the
negative.
Not that Joseph Alessi and Ben Keaton are not funny, they are,
but to me, their styles do not suit the characters they are called
upon to play; two comedians who try to revive Morecambe and Wise
routines in order to save their failing double act.
Morecambe and Wise were very interdependent comedians. Each relied
on the other for the creation of his particular comic persona,
with the result that after Morecambe's death, Ernie Wise was unable
to carve out an independent career for himself, as the ill-fated
Mystery of Edwin Drood proved.
Messrs Alessi and Keaton try very hard, perhaps too hard, to
create this interdependence, but they are two highly individual
comedians with strongly defined personalities and as a result,
whilst giving in their own way, very funny performances, they
never convince you that they are, or ever could be, a double act
which the originators of the roles must have been able to do.
This failure hangs like a pall over the whole evening and whilst
there are many extremely funny 'turns' the evening fails to coalesce
into a comedic whole.
The premise is that Alessi and Keaton are out of work, as Keaton
wants to write plays, one of which he is determined will be performed
with a guest star.
Alessi wants to get work for the act and tries to con Keaton
into appearing in an evening devoted to Morecambe and Wise by
pretending that an impresario is putting on his play. This enables
them to recreate a number of Morecambe and Wise type routines,
while shelving until the last act the actual performance of the
play.
The best performance comes from Tony Sedgwick, the third member
of the cast, as Arthur, the put-upon electrician, who has been
dragooned by Alessi to help him convince Keaton to give up his
aspirations as a playwright and return to the fold. Arthur is
called up to impersonate the producer of the play, Darryl Hannah,
the actual guest, Adam Cooper, and the French revolutionary mob,
among other parts.
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In each of these impersonations, he is, at the same time, grotesque
and pathetic - a combination that is irresistibly funny.
His French Revolutionary mob for which he dons several supernumerary
heads, each of which takes on a life of its own, is a piece of
comic acting in the best tradition of Marcel Marceau and the other
great mimes.
His impersonation of Adam Cooper, in the male Swan Lake of
Mathew Bourne, was the comedic high spot of the evening. Wearing
a tutu, a tiara and a pair of enormous web feet, he manages to
epitomise all that is ludicrous in an all male ballet without
being in the slightest way camp. He alone was, and is, worth the
price of admission.
As you may have gathered, the guest artist was Adam Cooper, last
seen at the Festival Hall in On Your Toes.
This performance was strangely ignored when he was introduced;
the emphasis being on his ballet and Billy Elliot roles. The role
of guest artist in a Morecambe and Wise programme was always thankless
and similarly in this play.
It is a butt for the comedian's humour and the guest is usually
required to send him or herself up in some role based on one for
which he or she is well known.
Mr Cooper acquitted himself adequately, he did a few balletic
leaps and steps and declaimed the nonsensical dialogue he was
given with panache showing, as he did in On Your Toes,
that his talent extends beyond the ability to perform a pas de
deux.
Why, therefore, did I feel that there was something missing in
the evening as a whole?
I am forced to the conclusion that this is not a play that travels
well. It was a jeu d'esprit, which worked in the West End, but
becomes a laboured joke in its translation to another cast on
tour.
I am sorry I cannot welcome the production more wholeheartedly,
as the cast, taken individually, are very amusing and worth watching,
but not in this play.
Perhaps if they just did their acts and ditched The Play What
I Wrote I could be more enthusiastic in the review what I
wrote.
The Play What I Wrote by Hamish McColl, Sean Foley and Eddie
Braben. Original songs by Gary Yershon, Director Michael Gyngell,
Designer Alice Power, Costume Supervisor Sallyann Dicksee, Choreography
by Irving Davies & Michael King, Lighting Tim Mitchell, Musical
Arrangements Steve Parry. WITH: Joseph Alessi, Ben Keaton and
Toby Sedgwick. Guest artiste Adam Cooper. Produced by David Pugh
Ltd and presented on tour and at Richmond Theatre, The Little
Green, Richmond, Surrey, until Sat November 8 2003. Tickets 020
8940 0088.
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