Stage: What happens in Malta...

Straight and Narrow
by Jimmie Chinn
director Mark Curry
with Lewis Allcock, Todd Von Joel, Carol Royle, Kerry Enright, Harriett Hare, Damon Jeffrey, Gavin Duff
sets/costumes David Shields
lighting Vittorio Verta, James Whitmarsh
Above the Stag, Vauxhall • 3-28.Aug.22

This revival of the late Jimmie Chinn's astute mix of comedy and character drama has sadly had its run cut short when Above the Stag Theatre abruptly shuttered its doors on 7th August. It's a terrific show that plays out like an especially witty sitcom even as it begins digging deeply under the surface. There's a lot going on between these beautifully realised characters, and the themes feel as timely today as they did when the play was first staged in 1992.

Narrated to the audience by Bob (Allcock), the show unfolds out of sequence in a clever way that builds intrigue into the humorously awkward situations. He begins with a little stand-up monologue that highlights the central idea about how we so easily tell little lies in an effort to protect each other. Without ever preaching, the show then unpicks this idea with farcical precision, revealing a series of relationships in ways that draw out telling insight.

It's 1980s Manchester, and Bob shares a kitchen installation business and a home with his partner Jeff (Von Joel). But his drama-queen mother Vera (Royle) thinks Jeff is just a housemate who is distracting Bob from finding a wife. The story begins as Bob's sisters are housesitting while he and Jeff are on holiday in Malta. Lois (Enright) is heavily pregnant with her fourth child with Bill (Jeffrey), who hilariously has learned to stay out of the family chaos. Nona (Hare) is still reeling that her husband Arthur (Duff) ran off with another woman, although he turns up later.

Then Bob and Jeff return home, and something momentous has happened in Malta. Bob is wounded, Jeff is confused, and Vera is the only one who doesn't know that they are a couple in a crisis. What follows expertly puts each of the characters on the spot, forcing them all to examine the point where the truth and lies are coexisting in their connections to each other. And since neither Bob nor Vera are particularly good at facing the truth, they're the ones who are going to have to take the trickiest journeys.

Each cast member hits the comical beats expertly while adding layers to his or her character, drawing out intriguing details that provoke strong reactions even as we're laughing. Their amusing interaction echoes with terrific one-line zingers. Royle is the scene-stealer, reeling off the best jokes (most of which Vera doesn't get). And the writing smartly shifts the audience sympathies back and forth between Bob and Jeff, giving Allcock and Von Joel some very strong moments along the way. All of which makes this a show that gets under the skin and keeps us thinking about both its smaller joys and its resonant kick. Keep an eye out for another revival.

photo by PBG Studios • 6.Aug.22