The Stage

Stage Fright

Published Monday 8 February 2010 at 11:05 by Evelyn Curlet

Charles, a lovelorn actor, and Peter, a penniless writer, hatch a plan to solve their respective woes. Peter will pen a play, funded by Charles, who will star in it alongside an aspiring actress he is smitten with. When it emerges that aspiring actress Geraldine has burning ambitions of her own, the stage is set for a furious battle of wills.

Lynn Howes’ sharp script satirises celebrity and success, possessing enough neat twists and witty lines to keep the audience engaged throughout, while Emma Taylor directs the assured cast on a simple set. Sion Tudor Owen is appropriately hammy and theatrical as thespian Charles, providing boisterous comic energy on stage, and Alex Barclay is quietly anxious and nervy as sensitive Peter.

Abi Titmuss is brave to take on the part of a Z-list celebrity working to promote herself with cut-throat zeal, since her own tabloid story has many parallels with that of the character. However, she’s genuinely good, so the joke isn’t at her expense. Instead, her portrait of the grasping Geraldine is funny, confident and detailed, and serves to further establish her acting credentials (she won a Fringe Report Award for best debut in 2006).

The production’s message seems to be that, in the entertainment game, artistic merit has nothing to do with success. Hopefully that won’t be the case for this wry and light-hearted show.