‘Old villains may retire....’, reads the strapline for this
play, currently on stage at The Apollo, ‘but are they going straight?’ In true
thriller fashion, we don’t find out the full answer to this question until the
last scene, and I’m not giving it away here. Suffice to say, there are more
twists and turns on the way than most of the audience will have foreseen. Even
my husband, usually the first in a guess the plot contest, predicted the ending
wrongly.
Mickey has invited his old partner in crime Ray to stay in
his swanky Spanish villa. Clearly there has been a rift in their relationship
but now Mickey is keen to renew old ties. Reuben Loake’s Mickey is perfectly played,
at times understated, at times openly conceited but with an undertone of
controlling aggression that surfaces every now and then. I have seen Ian Moth in many roles, often
playing the charming urbane gent, but his portrayal of Ray shows his range of acting
skills – a bundle of nerves, with a hint
of the East-End villain swagger.
Sue Edwards, as Mickey’s glamorous second wife Francine,
manages to retain an air of superiority while spitting venom at her guests, but
there is a hint of vulnerability in her portrayal which saves her from being an
unsympathetic character. The main target for her disdain is Brenda, played by
Fiona Gwinnett, whose performance threatens at times to steal the show, even
from the other talent on stage, but she too has her vulnerable point, as we
discover towards the end.
If there is a criticism of ‘Going Straight’ it is that the first
half of the script has a lot of talking and less action in it – this is fully
redressed in the second half, but in less skilful hands it could start rather
slowly. The great characterisation of every role however keeps us interested,
from the ‘old lags’ reminiscing about the past to the bitchy rivalry of their
respective spouses.
The mystery really starts when Polly, played wonderfully by
Susan Simpson, arrives to interview the two men for a Channel 4 documentary. From
this point the questions about who is really doing what behind the scenes take
off.
And talking of behind the scenes, no review of this play
could be complete without a mention of the amazing technical wizardry emanating
from the specially constructed sound and lighting system – set up in the
balcony because it just wouldn’t all fit in the usual ‘box’. Dan Burns has excelled
himself: absolutely spot on cue were not just doorbells and phones ringing, but
offstage Spanish conversations and videos on Mickey’s state of the art CCTV
screen – rewinding, playing back scenes we had just witnessed on the stage and
apparently off-screen action, including Mickey driving off in a (correct for
Spain) left hand drive car – yes, I do notice such details!!
This attention to detail pervades everything, from the
carefully ostentatious set to the perfectly judged costumes for each character –
we could tell so much about them before they ever opened their mouths. All of
this was of course brought together by the talented direction of Amy Burns, and
every person connected with this production in whatever capacity is to be
congratulated.
‘Going Straight’ continues its run at The Apollo every
evening until Saturday 28th October – curtain up at 7.30pm. Don’t
miss it!
