Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis

Published Monday 22 June 2009 at 10:15 by Andrew Liddle

Have you heard the one about the hooker, the transvestite and the Chinese rock ‘n’ roller? If not, you’re in for a treat. It’s not just riotously funny, it’s got moments of heart-rending pathos and lots of twists and turns on the way - not to mention a truck-load of costume changes.

Nicholas Goh does look astonishingly like an oriental version of the King and even manages to sound not unlike him, particularly in his early years. Sarah Parks excels as the weary dominatrix who, on her 50th birthday, is beginning to examine her life and find it could be better. Her gloomy introspection encourages one of her clients - the long-suffering (and generally happily so) Lionel, whose vulnerability is movingly brought out of the comic role by the splendid Michael Strobel - to hire an Elvis impersonator.

Whether this has an uplifting effect or not on the lady in question is unclear, but he certainly charms her two daughters, the simple one Brenda Marie, done to a turn by Catherine Kinsella, and the rebellious one, Shelley Louise, played admirably by Clara Darcy.

Most of the laugh-out-loud moments, however, occur when Becky Hindley is commanding the stage in the role of the repressed Catholic, Martha (otherwise known as ‘Holy Joe’), compulsively counting to ward off temptations of the flesh and other forms of uncleanliness. Her exchanges with Lionel are nothing short of glorious.

Kevin Shaw directs with his usual flair and insight, bringing out the play’s subtleties as well as leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of the gag. The audience loved it.