Painting by Numbers

Published Monday 8 September 2008 at 17:15 by Dominic Martin

Avoiding stereotyping characters in comedy is a difficult thing to achieve, but when a script radiates sharp, quick-fire humour, and a talented cast bring expert timing to a piece, such hackneyed personas can become a play’s strength rather than a weakness.

Simon Mawdsley’s prison-based tale finds four very different cons attempting to escape the grey drudgery of incarceration by enrolling in a weekly art class. They are all there for different reasons - be it a therapeutic means of controlling anger, a need to make the kids back home proud, or a chance to check out the ‘fit’ new art teacher. In the end, when the authorities conspire to deny them their tutor, the budding painters from very different worlds find a common cause in taking on the tub-thumping, meat-headed wardens, who view the arts as little more than inconsequential fluff.

Mark Rose’s wisecracking scally Ray is the energetic, comic pivot around which the other characters rotate. His razor-sharp tongue and near indefatigable cynicism mark him in sharp contrast to the soft-hearted, sheepish Doormat, played with a gawky charm by Matthew Jure.

Steve Osborne’s gravel-voiced geezer Webby is a harrowing bundle of frustration and seething anger, ready to blow his terrifying top at any moment. Alan, the educated, middle-class loser, goes from timid insomniac to eventually revelling in his role as the most committed rebel of all.

This is a funny script, rather predictable at times, but witty nonetheless, with a message about the important role art can play in rehabilitation that isn’t rammed down your throat - the audience is left to make its own mind up.

Mawdsley’s pacey direction keeps the tempo up at the level it should be. The actors’ switching of characters between inmates and wardens works reasonably well, while lighting, sound and setting are sufficient to establish the scene. But it is the skilled ensemble that make this a comedy well worth watching.