Review: Walk Like a Man, Laurels Theatre
This story of a boy who dares to dream to be something different, by SJ Lowes, had the audience enthralled at the Laurels, Whitley Bay.
It’s a story of two brothers. The older, Michael, (Craig Pearson), is happy following his Dad, Mick (Steven Lowes) into the plumbing business and their blokey, jokey, macho world on the construction site, in the pub, or at the match.
Jack (Jonny Larman) would rather be at the theatre, especially musical theatre. He secretly switches his college course in plumbing for Performing Arts and discovers his talent as a drag artist. He’s terrified to tell his Dad, though confides in his mam, Michelle, played by Heather Dowey.
Tortured by the outdated attitudes of his Dad, brother and work colleagues, Jack is about to dump his dream, when he finally tells all to his Uncle Derek, (Gary Abraham) a fellow plumber, who readily empathises and encourages him not to give up. Not surprisingly perhaps, as it turns out that back in the day, Derek too had once been a drag queen, but didn’t have the courage to continue.
Even Derek’s wife, Auntie Sue (Lynn Huntley) was blissfully unaware of her husband’s previous life. The story is narrated by the Ray the Barman (James Craister) landlord of the aptly named ‘The Queens’, who decides to turn the ailing pub’s fortunes around by introducing a drag night.
The theme resonates strongly with Billy Elliott or Jamie, but is set only four years ago, at the time Newcastle United fans were desperately awaiting the news that their club would be taken over with a massive injection of cash. One of the plumbers is not a Newcastle fan.
Eddie the Mackem (Colin Coombs) is outnumbered in the eight strong cast, and is both the comedian in the gang. He has to bear the brunt of the football rivalry and jokes, most of which were light-hearted, but one joke in particular, crossed a line in being both offensive and out of context. The stereotypical mutual dislike between plumbers and electricians, plumbing innuendo and a range of cleverly knitted together oldie but golden jokes from Eddie provided a rich seam of better comedic moments.
The language is strong and may be offensive and unnecessary to some. There is much more going on in this intricate plot as Michelle and Sue chat about their husbands and fantasies, Michelle dances in her daydreams, the brothers fall out, Jack struts and mimes to big show numbers, there’s tragedy, the plumbers have a couple of fans anthems and the whole cast break out into a handful of original songs through the show also written by the playwright, SJ Lowes.
It is very unusual to see a cast of eight actors and even more so in a venue the size of The Laurels with a seating capacity of around 60, and the cast handled the space they had well. Jonny Larman particularly took on the challenge boldly, turning from a terrified confused teenager into the confident, gigantic persona of Jackie, and managing to avoid banging his head or injuring anyone in the audience.
There were technical challenges, but on this first night the cast handled the many scene-changes across the crowded stage manfully, with props coming on and off and distractingly in and out of a cupboard, as the set switched between the pub, the building site and the kitchen.
Maybe the dialogue could have been faster paced – the pauses in such a cosy setting could feel awkward and did seem to elongate the show, which lasts two hours 50 minutes, including two short intervals.
SJ Lowes’s play tackles issues of prejudice and discrimination head on in this show and does it with a great deal of humour and pathos, bringing some of the audience to their feet - which is always a great indication of a good night out.
Walk Like a Man is at Laurel Theatre, Whitley Bay until September 20. Tickets from the website.