Theatre / the wardrobe theatre
Review: Nachos, Wardrobe Theatre
Drawing on Netflix’s Colombian cartel drama Narcos for a comedy stage show is certainly an intriguing choice. Following on from previous hit genre comedies like Reservoir Mogs, Muppits Die Hard and Goldilock, Stock & Three Smoking Bears, the Wardrobe Theatre Company set their sights on the Netflix TV genre in Nachos. But can this more obscure and multilingual subject material provide as much humour as previous productions?
The show tells the story of Mexican Pedro Perez and his nachos-smuggling operation, parodying Pablo Escobar’s infamous Colombian drugs empire. Performer Andrew Kingston is the spitting image of Narcos’ Wagner Moura in the role of Perez, and he does a great impression of Moura’s performance as well, tapping into his nuanced gesture and movement. But the real star of the show is furious SEA (Snack Enforcement Agency) agent Sam Walker, played with fiery aplomb by Lotte Allan.
Throughout the show Kingston and Allan play different roles, from US President Tyrell to Perez’ scheming wife, but the scale feels as though it could be taken even further than it currently is. Allan frequently outpaces Kingston in the heightened wildness of her performance, and her characters feel livelier and funnier as a result. Although Nachos’ messiness is one of its greatest strengths, the level of insanity could go up another notch or two, through both performance and script.
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The jokes that land the best are either creatively format-breaking or visual. Unfortunately, the opening moments are very slow and dialogue-heavy, setting up the scenario and concept rather than pushing the boundaries from the outset. When the two SEA agents break out into a montage of busting small crime on the streets, the show instantly comes alive. It’s amazing how many wonderful ways the two performers make the simple prop of nachos funny, whether it’s by filling a teddy bear with them, or crushing them up and snorting a line.
As Nachos progresses, the breaking of the fourth wall also becomes more elaborate. The Wardrobe audience becomes a cinema audience as Perez’ angry wife berates someone for shushing her. In a big party scene, the two performers rapidly switch between characters as they lose track of who they are supposed to be in any given moment. These moments would be even more effective if there were more characters in the mix, or if they were more widely spread throughout the show, but they work very well nonetheless.
Likewise, a number of running jokes in the script are contained within single scenes or occur too often within a short duration to pay off their maximum potential. The visit to the Mexican President’s office has a great game of the scene in which agent and president mime competing at various sports, and leads into a strong running joke about Ted Danson, but falls at a strange point in the show that loses momentum.
As the show develops it seems likely that these kinks will be ironed out, and that the craziness will be ramped up to full capacity. Netflix’s Narcos is certainly a substantial concept on which to base the show, yet no familiarity with that show is required in order to recognise the familiar tropes of gangster film and storytelling.
There’s a lot of great humour in Nachos, especially in its more over-the-top elements, and hopefully its ambition can be expanded to spread the creativity and energy throughout.
Nachos continues at the Wardrobe Theatre until Saturday, July 7. For more info and to book tickets, visit thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/nachos
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