BOUNCERS (REMIX)

What a pleasure to be able to be able to welcome Dunstable Rep to NODA East D3 and to review my first production as your Representative.

Bouncers is an iconic play, perhaps not very pc these days, but when it was written and the era it covers makes it very much of the times, and any references that may be considered dubious by some audience members must be taken in context, as they are with many plays, and as such I remember the 1990’s well, and this was a true representation of those times.

I liked the minimal set, it allowed the cast to populate the stage and become the main focus, without detracting from the words.  The Director is very experienced and always brings out the best in her cast, with the four guys adapting their voices and body language well to the various characters, both male and female, that they were required to cover.

Sound effects and projections from Andrew Hayward were excellent, the minimum needed to give maximum effect, whilst Liam Whiteside’s lighting effects enhanced the mood and feel of each scene.  I thought everything blended well, giving a technically sound production.

This is an irreverent, very funny play, but also shows the vulnerability of the various cast members.  I loved the hairdressing scene, where we first met Les as his alter-ego Rosie, the shower scene was hilarious, as was the taxi scene, but all very well acted out. 

Marlon Gill gave Lucky Eric the depth of character needed to make him the leader of the Bouncers, a strong portrayal, Marlon gave him a rough edge, showing his bravado and weaknesses.  His transformation into Maureen was well-observed.  I particularly liked his speeches, very telling!

Alex Brewer was Judd, Eric’s main protagonist, slightly more laid back than the other men, but again well-observed and very adaptable to the various requirements of the role.  Alex made a good hairdresser along with his other female role, and he certainly found a way to wind Eric up!

Christian Okoli was the elegant Ralph.  A twinkle in his eye, and playing up to the audience, gave him a different edge to the other guys, and his transformation into the sexy Susie was such fun.  Christian helped bring a real laugh out loud moment to the shower scene.  Good to see a new face at the Rep too.

The final character was Les, played by Asa Clark, the baby of the quartet, and his first ‘adult’ part with the Rep, he played the naïve Les so well, whilst suddenly catching on, we could see the light of realisation dawning in some situations, and he made a very good Rosie!

This was a strong cast who gave us diversity of character, humour, bawdiness, poignancy, an all round good evening’s entertainment. 

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