Bouncers

How could I have been reviewing theatre shows for over 20 years and not yet experienced this hilarious and enduring show? Bouncers, brilliantly written by John Godber, portrays a night on the town from the point of view of the men on the door. It is an incredibly funny and energetic piece of highly theatrical storytelling where the men are simultaneously themselves, and every character they happen to meet. It creates a vibrant picture of the unremitting profligacy of northern night life with its unrelenting energy, the disco era, and gruff guys and gals out on the razz. As a four hander the cast have to work so hard to depict all of the different and very diverse characters and this cast worked exceptionally as a congruent team. Tony Bright as Lucky Eric, Paul Fish as Judd, Louis Craig as Ralph and Dan Jones as Les, never let the energy relent for a moment and had the audience in the palm of their hand. Deft directional touches from director, Andy Stoner, gave the already great script poise and even momentary glimpses of pathos. The central theme of the piece is the conflict between those out for a great night and those stopping a good time from being had and the boredom of the doormen spilling over into bizarre brutality and fantasy. The audio cues, executed by Dave Gordon, were timed to perfection and the lighting, run by Mike Medway, was wholly sympathetic and imbued exactly the right mood for every scene. Again, director Andy Stoner and Assistant director Sam Clements, had a definite hand in ensuring that the technical elements of the show were as tight and slick as the cast. They had us all in stitches with a brilliant production. BRAVO!

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