Having seen Bouncers on several occasions and loving the work of its author, John Godber, I jumped at the opportunity to see this play at, for me anyway, a new venue. The Robert Bolt Theatre is a part of the Waterside venue in Sale, it comprises a theatre, art galleries and studios. The theatre itself seats up to 346, which is larger than any venue I have previously seen the work performed in, so I was keen to see how it would work.
Bouncers was first performed over 40 years ago at the Edinburgh Festival, and tells the story of a Friday night out, through the eyes of 4 nightclub doormen. It is still one of the most performed plays in the UK. It has now been updated for 2019, with more contemporary music, and a smart new simple, but very effective set, and some very sharp dance moves. Initially the actors appear as security guards in the foyer of the theatre prior to the start of the play, and this helps the audience build a relationship with the performers very early on. As early in fact as the opening scene when taking the stage one at a time to perform their own individual dance moves the audience cheered each actor like you would a long-lost friend.
Introductions over, we stepped straight into the hairdressers to hear what the girls would be wearing and how much they were looking forward to a night out; seamlessly this became the Barbers and we were introduced to lads getting ready for their big night out. The production hinges on the ability of the actors to be able to switch seamlessly from one group of characters to another, over 20 characters in total, and keep the flow pacey and therefore the audience interested. This production does that well. The pace is consistent throughout, but I would like to have seen slightly more variation between the giddy girls and the lads who are mad for it, to make it feel more like a rollercoaster, rather than a steady tram ride on a Friday night. At times it felt a little too precise, not at all like a messy night out. This was exemplified by Lucky Eric’s speeches. I love these monologues, and I felt the first two lacked the depth of emotion and change of pace that can allow these monologues to give full impact.
Act 2 saw the biggest re-write, with the Bouncers maligning the lack of a police presence, stating how easy it was to buy a doormans' licence, the setting up of field hospitals to deal with drunken revellers, and most poignantly a scene where the Bouncers describe a couple having sex in a doorway, the man grunting whilst the woman eats a pizza, all point to Godber’s ability to bring “social comment” ( this line used during the play ) into his work. He clearly cares about the young and the issues he raises are very relevant, but overall it somehow misses the mark.
Don’t get me wrong Bouncers is still funny, the audience range was literally 18 to 80 on the night I watched it, and everybody laughed. However, it’s a strange mix of the current and a time gone by. This feeling was exemplified by the combining the taking of selfies and the barber asking “something for the weekend”. It just didn’t seem to gel, but there is plenty of content and comedy to enjoy. Unfortunately there is now no big finish. When originally written the build-up ( Judd “are we getting this film on or what” ) resulted in the Bouncers doing a routine at the end to show that a “porno” had been replaced by another video. Originally a mock of the Thriller video, then moving onto a Take That skit which left the audience on a high. Now it simply finishes and the Bouncers say goodnight, I think it deserves more.
The cast worked well together, Peter Mc Millan (Judd), Lamin Touray (Ralph), Duncan Riches (Les) and Frazer Hamill (Lucky Eric) worked the audience and the stage well, and my fears about venue size were totally unfounded. Their physical comedy, timing and interactions were very natural making scene changes hardly noticeable. They certainly had the ability and were capable of the big finish that was sorely lacking. So come on Mr. Godber, sharpen your pencil once again, and tweak this 2019 version ever so slightly to give it back the big finish the actors and the audience deserve!
Reviewer - Jennifer O'Beirne
on - 4/4/19.
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