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Show: Teddy
Society: London (professional shows)
Venue: THE VAULTS THEATRE, Launcelot Street, London SE1 7AD
Credits: By Tristan Bernays. Music by Dougal Irvine. Produced by Sarah Loader for Snapdragon Productions in association withThe Watermill Theatre.
Type: Sardines
Author: Chris Abbott
Performance Date: 03/04/2018
Teddy
Chris Abbott | 04 Apr 2018 10:32am
Back in London after its previous run at the Southwark Playhouse and now revived by Snapdragon and the Watermill Theatre, Teddy is totally at home at the Vaults Theatre under Waterloo Station. Walking down a murky tunnel into a bomb-site bar sets the scene nicely and the grunge aesthetic of the Vaults is a perfect fit for a musical set in post-War Elephant and Castle; great work from set designer Max Dorey and effective lighting of stage and venue from Christopher Nairne. This is no jukebox musical however, but an ambitious two-hander narrative where the actors play all the roles, supported by an expert 4-piece band that between them create what might be described as a rock and roll opera.
Lead singer for the band is Johnny Valentine, with Dylan Wood as an entirely authentic Elvis clone. Andrew Gallo is the hard-working drummer who also has his moment of comedy when briefly released from his cage. It is Musical Director Harrison White and bass guitarist Freya Parks who set the scene however, interacting with the audience and each other before and during the performance, although they don’t have a role in the main narrative.
That narrative is in the hands of two highly skilled actors. As Teddy, George Parker portrays the vanity and dress sense of the Teddy Boy, and has the necessary facility with the quickly flicked comb (even though his quiff needs to grow a little). His ability to become someone else in an instant or even fight with himself is alarming, as is that of his fellow actor, the even more impressive Molly Chesworth as Josie. She is unforgettable as neighbourhood thug Tully, managing to be both Josie and her molester at the same time, in a larger than life portrayal which is never allowed to slide over into caricature.
We follow Teddy and Josie as they watch Blackboard Jungle at the Coronet and also dance at the Trocadero. Both actors cope well with the freewheeling inner rhymes of the fascinating script, which is mostly in verse and provides a kind of baroque counterpoint to the driving rock and roll score from the band. There are some fascinating echoes in the script too, the line “his jacket incarnadine” leading me to wonder if there would be other Macbeth parallels. These are believable characters with which we identify and when the story takes a dramatic – indeed melodramatic – turn in the second act, we are carried along even though we have been given no real reason for the turn of events at the pawnbroker’s shop.
It’s a great evening of rock and roll as well as an engrossing story of course, and was enjoyed by the mostly young audience and the smattering of grey-haired people who might just be able to remember the period themselves. I am one of the latter, and enjoyed spotting the Spangles, Brillo and Camp Coffee ads which helped to set the scene. I could quibble perhaps with some aspects of Tristan Bernays’ inventive script on the grounds of authenticity: we definitely went to the pictures then, not a movie – and however much we swore, we did so inventively with a whole range of words from which to select with careful use of the f-word from time to time with great effect rather than using it all the time.
None of this affected audience enjoyment of course, and few of those present will have had any first-hand knowledge of the period. Dougal Irvine’s music sounded entirely authentic and continued after the show had ended with the audience flooding onto the stage. It is certainly a feel-good evening, but one with some thoughtful aspects to it and is so much more than some other attempts to put this troubled period on stage. Director Eleanor Rhode has created something quite unique in Teddy, and it is not surprising that it has previously won awards and has already been extended at the Vaults Theatre.
- : admin
- : 03/04/2018