She Rode a Blazing Saddle
Whodunnit 4 (Unrehearsed) Park Theatre, Finsbury Park - Guest Review by Dr Terror
I was blown away by this: it's immersive, it's super-slick and, above all, it's utterly joyous in these dark times.
The Park Theatre is a real North London community theatre, committed to low seat prices and exciting performances for everyone from school kids to those experiencing dementia. It gives opportunities to talented new voices (One Piece's Taz Skyler had his big break here as a writer and actor, to name but one) and is a beacon of everything a theatre should be.
If that sounds earnest and not much fun, then think again: imagine Tim Vine adding his one- liners to a script of Airplane-worthy comedy and you'll be close. This year, this fundraiser is set in the wild west and, while the programme talks extensively of the blistering satire of Blazing Saddles' take on American racism, the intention here is merely an escapist - if utterly hilarious - evening's fun.
If you enjoy cowboy/country and western songs, there will be much to delight you, from favourites like Oh Susannah!, evergreen hits like Rawhide and Country Roads, Take Me Home, hoedowns like Cotton Eye Joe and, of course, Rock Ridge's inevitable Camptown Races.
The premise? Everyone has rehearsed a very slick comedy whodunnit set in the wild west (a renegade has an actual Bounty bar on his head, the gambler-on-the run-disguised-as-a-preacher improvises a sermon based on losing the second sock in a pair, a challenge to be quickest on the draw leads to a round of Pictionary etc.) But here's the twist: every performance features an A-list actor or comedian playing the sheriff once and once only but with no script and no knowledge of what is about to happen. Their lines are given to them via an earpiece and the rest is up to them!
There are 64 of these in total, with names including Gillian Anderson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugh Bonneville, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent and many more (59 of them, obviously!) Word was out that last night Bradley Walsh had brought the house down.
It really, really works! Do see it. You'll be helping a great independent theatre and will have a superb night out into the bargain.
Oh, you want to know who I got? To a huge Shameless fan like me, Anne-Marie Duff could not have been a better surprise. Doing it for the first time ever (in a Poirot moustache), her gift for both drama and comedy was unmistakable. Afterwards she signed a raffle prize and took a Q & A from the audience. It was clear she had enjoyed herself just as much as we had.