The Little Theatre
13th Nov 2023
Written by Simon Mawdsley
Presented by The Progressive Players
Directed by Denise Wilson
This week The Progressive Players are staging Simon Mawdsley's comedy thriller, Audacity.
In a dismal basement flat in Newcastle, three salesmen plan something that will change their fortunes. Phil, recently divorced, needs to persuade John and Dave to help him rob a department store. He's already got a plan, he just needs two guys to help him put it into action. And he has chosen well: John, is out of work after 22 year's service, his wife working two jobs to keep them afloat, while Dave, is a gambler with a huge mortgage and a high maintenance wife. Phil uses all his salesman's skills to persuade them - plays on their weaknesses, appeals to their egos, convinces them, despite their doubts, that this is something they need to do.
As the day of the heist arrives, they are practiced, poised, ready. Can they pull it off? Will everything go to plan?
This starts as an apparently serious crime thriller but very quickly the humour begins to show. Trevor Whaley as Phil, the brains behind the heist, plays the straight man to Neil Radbourne and Roy Evans. Evans blusters and preens as the over-confident Dave, while Radbourne plays the nervous, self-effacing, John to perfection - coughing and spluttering and apologizing his way throughout. There are some surprises - for the characters and the audience - not everyone is quite what they seem, and more than one secret is revealed in the course of the play!
In a play set in a single room, where there is more dialogue than action, body language and facial expression are as important as the words in engaging the audience and drawing them into the story. Under Denise Wilson's direction there are some excellent, subtle moments when the audience sees a grimace or a swagger that the other characters are seemingly oblivious to, as well as some quite deliberate breaking of the fourth wall such as Gemma (Jude Downing) addressing the audience directly.
Do the guys pull off their heist? Do the wives get to the bottom of their husband's strange behaviour? Is everyone, or anyone, actually telling the truth? Maybe. Maybe not.
Great acting, clever direction, and a surprise or two in the plot make for an audaciously entertaining evening!
Audacity plays until Saturday 18th November. Tickets are available online here .
Denise Sparrowhawk
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