Review: THE WALWORTH FARCE Is A Fabulously Funny And Utterly Absurd Glimpse Into The Goings On In A Dysfunctional Family

Wednesday 23rd May 2018, 7:30pm, KXT Theatre

Dark and twisty, THE WALWORTH FARCE is an absurd play within a play which contemplates the extent parents will go to protect their children. Director Kim Hardwick has gathered an incredibly skilled cast for this wonderful retelling of Enda Walsh's intimate black tragicomedy about family secrets.

The premise of the work, which premiered in Ireland in 2006, is that Dinny (Laurence Coy) and his two adult sons Sean (Troy Harrison) and Blake (Robin Goldsworthy) are repeatedly perfecting a play in their tiny 15th floor Walworth Road council flat located in the South London area of Elephant and Castle. The three men are replaying the same story of Dinny's mother's funeral and the bizarre events that follow on what would turn out to be their last day in Cork, Ireland but whilst Dinny frames it as an acting competition, they are performing for no one. Dinny plays himself whilst Sean and Blake portray their younger selves along with the extra male and female roles respectively. With the aid of wigs, fake moustaches and hats to indicate the myriad of characters. Whilst most days run like clockwork in the repetitive cycle, Sean has picked up the wrong bag of 'supplies' at the supermarket and the well-meaning checkout girl Hayley (Rachel Alexander) has made the 15 floor trek on her lunchbreak to deliver the right bag but she's in for a shock as she meets Sean's family.

Isabel Hudson has created an incredibly detailed expression of the small shabby flat that the three men share. At face value it seems like a relatively normal overcrowded council flat but closer inspection shows masking tape marking out a floor plan, beer cans covered with handmade labels, and a bizarre rig of wires and clips hanging across the ceiling not to mention the cardboard coffin on the single bed. Their costuming conveys their poverty along with op-shop finds but the most amusing feature is Blake's portrayal of the women of the story, complete with bra and a series of wigs to represent the women that range from his mother, aunt and the neighbour's wife. Martin Kinnane's lighting design keeps the work in a softer lighting in keeping with the fact that the story never leaves the apartment. His signal to the audience for the intermission is inventive and to the point.

This is an incredibly detailed and completely absurd story that can initially take a while to decipher what is actually happening but eventually the play within a play becomes clear. The performers do very well at changing between the characters of Dinny's fast paced play and also allowing enough of an understanding of their primary character's personality to allow the pieces of the mental jigsaw puzzle start to fall into place. Goldsworthy and Harrison ensure that the sons' desire to please their father is evident whilst also alluding to a degree of fear Dinny has instilled in them, from a fear and distrust of the outside world, a fear of being alone and also a fear of upsetting him. The expression of the behaviour towards Hayley highlights how isolated the family has become with Dinny and Blake apparently never leaving the apartment and Sean only allowed to go to the shops. Alexander ensures that Rachel is suitably bewildered at what she has stumbled upon whilst also being terrified at what Dinny and Blake may do to her as she realises they are keeping something secret. Accents are kept consistent with Coy, Goldsworthy and Harrison maintaining Irish accents whilst Alexander presents a casual South London sound as she prattles on with nervousness as she tries to figure out what she has stumbled into.

With underling questions about what lengths people will go to protect children and keep secrets, THE WALWORTH FARCE also considers the manipulation of truth and the effect that can have on people. Will hiding it make things better, will it protect innocent people or is it just self-serving and selfish? It also raises the question of perpetual cycles continuing throughout generations and whether it can be broken as the boys fear turning into their father. This is an intriguing work that will require the audience's full attention to follow the parade of characters covered but it is also an incredibly funny work that utilises physical comedy along with the a fabulous script that will have you laughing and stunned in disbelief all at once.

THE WALWORTH FARCE

May 18 - June 9, 2018

KXT Theatre Kings Cross