Theatre / tobacco tea theatre
Review: Stand and Deliver, Alma Tavern Theatre
Political corruption, absurd decision-making, fake news: sound familiar?
It may be set in 1735, but this fast-paced production from locals Tobacco Tea Theatre is bang up to date in its subject matter.
The play opens with the news that the Lord Chief Justice’s lackey Horace Bluster has lost the deeds to a spice island which will make the former very wealthy. As a result, the judge sends his ineffectual sidekick off to recover the document. Meanwhile, the streets are full of tales of a terrifying but dashing highwayman, whom tough nut Eve Bugg plans to find and serve.
is needed now More than ever
We follow these two plotlines until they crash in the middle, with Eve and Samuel holding up the carriage in which Horace and his crush Lady Cheltenham are riding. The deeds end up in the hands of the highwayman, who is revealed as local aristocrat Robert Steel.
Banged up in a cell, Steel awaits Eve’s arrival, at which point he shares the story of his impostor-syndrome in a touching speech about his dissatisfaction with his former life as an English gentleman. Together they plan to wreak havoc on the corrupt politicians ruling the country, leading to a blood-soaked finale with echoes of Tarantino and war novels.
Between the gunshots, the show is played for laughs with most cast members adeptly representing multiple characters, but Lily Garbutt raises the most titters as canapé-obsessed Lady Cheltenham. When playing opposite Gabriel Burke as Horace there’s also a touch of Regency Blackadder about the pair. In contrast to these two, Joey Bartram plays Augustus Standing straight, with convincing authority.
Their lines are pithy and often deeply cynical as the play asks us to reconsider the nature of truth: is Robert Steel the highwayman less honest now than if he had stayed a nobleman? Whose word do we believe – the criminal or the corrupt judge? And, if we can’t be sure what’s true, how can justice be served?
Christopher Cutting’s fresh script is satisfying to the last, giving plenty of pace to this entertaining piece of theatre.
Stand and Deliver is at the Alma Tavern Theatre until Saturday, April 14. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.almatavernandtheatre.co.uk/theatre/what-s-on.html
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