Bouncers and Shakers – The Forum Theatre

Written by John Godber. Directed by Jennie Davies and Pete Curran.

The first version of “Bouncers” was written in 1977 by John Godber and premiered at the Edinburgh Festival that same year. Originally a two-hander, this play was expanded into its current version by Godber and Jane Thornton in 1980, when it became the piece which we now know and love. The pair of what I would describe as “mini playlets” were well performed by all the cast. Act 2 saw the male bouncers take to the stage whilst the first half was devoted to the cocktail waitresses, the “Shakers” who spend their time on stage observing and commenting on the people who patronise the bar in which they work and share insights into their own lives as they express their personal thoughts and feelings delivered by monologues from each of the cast.

I last saw this production at the Forum (which has undergone a tremendous revamp and has turned into a comfortable and spacious venue) some 8 years ago and although 75% of the male cast is the same as it was then, there are now 4 new cast members taking on the female parts, which has added a freshness to the production. It was nice to see members of the cast who have progressed through the junior ranks taking on a more advanced undertaking in what is undoubtedly a challenging piece of theatre.

John Godber’s comedy writing is excellent, you have only to look up his credits for stage and television to discover the great breadth of work he has been involved with. His plays continue to be essential reading and study, which was borne out by the fact that a large part of the audience was made up of students who were obviously there to see first-hand one of the prime exponents of this art form.

The first act was a definite tour-de-force with the female actors on stage with no break for over an hour and in that time there was no let-up in the continuous action. The girls worked well together, and I was particularly impressed by Becky Larner as Mel, whose different characterisations were many and varied. The comedy was split throughout the members of the cast though and all had their part to play. Their pronunciation of the Italian dishes was hilarious! And when talking about her engagement, Adele’s description of the ring she had found on the Argos website for £80, but it doesn’t look cheap! had me in stiches.

TING!

After the interval we meet the “Bouncers” of the title; Ralph, Les, Judd and Lucky Eric, who took us on a hilarious journey through the lives of the many and varied characters who enter (or try to enter and fail) through their well-manned doors. Dressed all in black the guys tell us the story of a night out in a disco in the 1980s in an alternative take on Saturday Night Fever without the music.

The comic timing of all the male cast members was superb, in fact I think they received more laughter and applause than the first half. Particularly when a member forgot his lines and then recovered so well, leading to some courageous ad-libbing.

This was a good production by the members of NK Theatre Arts, who certainly did justice to the excellent writing of John Godber. I can heartily recommend the quality of this work and if you get the chance, go along and catch one of their other productions later in the season.

Reviewer: David S Clarke

Reviewed: 10th March 2023

North West End UK Ratting: ★★★