Friday, November 21, 2014

Good Cop, Bad Cop at the Leicester Square Theatre

Saturday 15-November-2104.

A very entertaining way to spend an hour with this slightly surreal comedy. It was positively Stoppardian - it reminded me of After Magritte with its use of rational explanations for apparently bizzare "life choices",


We ate beforehand at the Cork and Bottle wine bar which I have been going to since 1980. On a previous visit I mentioned this to our wait-person who remarked that that was before he was born!

The Lounge at the Leciester Square is one of the smallest venues I have been to for a while, in a good way. You are really close to the stage so can get the full impact of the performance. The reviews were in the vein of "damning with faint praise" but we thoroughly enjoyed it so what do they know.

Since it was a short walk and a short performance we had ample time to return to C&B for a night cap afterwards.

The British Theatre Guide wrote.
"Fettes's and Alexander's obvious differences are clear and deliberately exaggerated to great effect from both, which helps keep the audience hooked in the few moments of uninspiring madness.

What is more captivating and impressive is the delivery of Stevenson's character. A somewhat mad eccentric incapable of lying, this is a gold star performance which brings to life a top notch, deeply flawed and interesting character.

Initially, Good Cop Bad Cop starts off as a simple plot with little scope, so it was reassuring to see it develop. This is a great attempt from this writing trio at trying to push the boundaries and create a new edgy, funny play capable of its West End billing. " 
Full review...

The Upcoming liked it in an ambivalent sort of way,
"The performances here are all decent enough – Stevenson in particular deserves credit for an endearingly spaced-out turn as Joe, which at least serves to confound expectations of how the detainee should behave in this well-worn paradigm. They cast might be better served by the script, however, if it were boiled down considerably to form a much tighter (and much shorter) sketch." 
Full review...

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