Review - Oliver Reed: Wild Thing at St James Theatre, London

By -
www.stjamestheatre.co.uk
Oliver Reed - actor, prolific boozer and professional hellraiser - had a life and career so talked about to the point where he became like a mythical ancient god found in fables of romp and drama. Even if you know nothing about the drinks and the punch ups, Reed’s film roles showed a one-off individual who left a lasting impression. My first introduction to “Ollie” Reed was in Oliver! as brutal criminal Bill Sykes - a dark scary presence amongst the gaiety of ‘Oom-pah-pah’. For other audiences, a first Reed experience could have been 'Women in Love', which bore the first ever male full frontal nude scene in British cinema, or the heavily censored 'The Devils' with its explicit themes of sex, violence and religion.


Oliver Reed: Wild Thing, written by Mike Davis and Rob Crouch, is a full throttle of a solo show with the gob-smackingly energetic co-writer Crouch in the title role. In the intimate studio of St. James Theatre appropriately fitted with a bar, a gorilla suited figure armed with soda syphon (which he’s not afraid to use on unsuspecting punters!) bursts through to the throngs of The Trogg’s 'Wild Thing'. From the very start you know you’re in for a thrilling and bumpy ride.



Addressing the audience from Malta in 1999, with death lurking just around the corner, Crouch’s Oliver Reed takes us on a colourful journey from childhood through to film stardom and raucous TV appearances. Reed is an extraordinary character  - a descendant of Peter the Great (which thrilled the young Reed) and dyslexic who only excelled at sport. After leaving school, Reed escaped to a vibrant London and worked as a bouncer in a Soho strip club before going into national service. Upon deciding on an acting career, Reed shunned any formal training and instead chose to carefully observe people he encountered. During his career, Reed refused to work on an image or “play the game” (marketing and media training in today’s showbiz world) to get ahead. Throughout the play’s narrative, it is clear that Oliver Reed had always been a true maverick.



Rob Crouch doesn’t just play Reed - he is Reed! The commanding voice and the face, shifting from fierce to gentle and back, are akin to a spirit possession. Convincing also is how Crouch transforms when going through Reed’s life stages - from sporty schoolboy with a disappointed intellectual father to philandering excessive tabloid star to an ageing man bitterly and desperately refusing to go gracefully. The entire spectrum of emotions are squeezed into this 70 minute play - anger, excitement, humour, intimidation, bittersweetness and passion to name but a few. The audience sympathise and laugh with Crouch’s Reed but at the same time fully aware that he could turn at any minute like a ferocious big cat.


Oliver Reed: Wild Thing is a must regardless of whether you’re a Reed fan or not. Rob Crouch’s performance is outstanding and captivating with hilarious and engaging audience interaction. A play that is the equivalent to spending the night at the pub with your favourite, if a little non-PC, uncle with extraordinary tales to tell and who loves a drink or dozen.


For more information on performances visit www.olliereedtheplay.co.uk


You can follow Oliver Reed: Wild Thing on Twitter! - twitter.com/olliereedplay

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Category Is...POSE!

By -
Image
POSE is an award-winning U.S TV show with a third season in the pipeline. Yet the series barely gets a mention in workplaces and dinner parties (is the silence just in the UK?). It's not enough that my partner and a few queer friends and acquaintances have watched POSE. This is a must for everybody to learn about an often ignored part of LGBTQ+ history and culture that's not whitewashed. It's also packed with great performances. So I'm going to keep promoting the hell out of POSE.  Created by Ryan Murphy, POSE is a drama centred around the New York ballroom culture in the 1980s and early 90s. Marginalised black, latin, gay and trans competitors dance and walk for trophies in multiple categories. This is an underground scene that influenced Madonna (which season 2 touches on) and is frequently referenced in Rupaul's Drag Race.  The pilot bursts open with a thrilling break-in. Ran by the glamorous and domineering Elektra (Dominique Jackson), the House of Abundance wil...
Read more

Living Deliciously: Robert Eggers' The VVitch

By -
One of the small blessings of lockdown, has been the opportunity to watch even more films than usual. Supernatural horror has become more prominent in my viewing choices - there had always been affinity with the genre's outsiders but this time it is also a brief escape from reality. The VVitch, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance festival, had been on my list for a while.  The VVitch follows a family of 17th century English settlers who, banished from their New England colony over a religious dispute, set up a new home in an isolated clearing next to a dense forest. Tragedy begins when the baby vanishes while the adolescent daughter Thomasin (Anna Taylor-Joy) plays peek-a-boo with him. Somewhere in the forest, an elderly woman rubs herself with an ointment of bodily remains.  Secrets and paranoia suffocate the family. Thomasin increasingly receives accusations from both parents and siblings, over thefts and unholy activity, as unexplained misfortune strikes again - her verge ...
Read more

Inspiring Movies: What A Way To Go!

By -
Image
Bold and elaborate costume design exhilarates me. When I’m low on energy, I google images of Bob Mackie creations instead of buying chocolate as a little pick-me-up. What A Way To Go!, a star-studded dark comedy from 1964, is the visual equivalent to a freakshake-induced sugar rush. Shirley MacLaine stars as small-town girl Louisa May Foster who desires a simple life. But Louisa ends up marrying men - played by Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum and Gene Kelly - who become incredibly wealthy overnight. The success, greed and vanity of the husbands kills them in outlandish ways leaving Louisa re-widowed, richer and sadder. With costumes designed by the legendary Edith Head, MacLaine’s character is frequently reinvented as she moves from one doomed spouse to another. Before money enters Louisa’s world, she is as sweet as apple pie in frills and red polka dots. With each husband comes a different lifestyle as well as a more sophisticated image. Living in bohemian Paris, with Paul...
Read more