On Tour is
a raw, powerful drama that is full of dark humour and
containing constant fuck-filled dialogue, directed by
Liverpool-born Matt Wilde and written by Gregory Burke
(Gagarin Way and The Straits).
It features
outstanding performances by the three actors involved,
notably Liverpudlian Andrew Schofield as Ray, who was
being watched in the stalls by his long-time collaborator,
writer Alan Bleasdale.
The first half
of the production - which is a co-production with London's
acclaimed Royal Court - is set in a prison cell in an
unnamed country in Scandinavia, and involves verbal interplay
between H (Jeff Hordley) and Daz (Paul Anderson).
They are both
England football supporters, who have been arrested at
the airport prior to a match for reasons not specified.
Mancunian H - who is prepared to sell anything he can
get hold of - drugs, designer clothes, counterfeit money
- to England supporters. He is a spiv of the first degree.
Cockney Daz
seems in some awe of H and his fraudulent ways. He appears
to be the weaker character of the two, even though he
admits to being an ex-Royal Marine. It later transpires
he is on the run from the Navy to avoid being called up
to fight in Iraq as a reservist.
I got slightly
bored listening to the two of them rabbiting on about
scams, blah, blah, while strolling around what seemed
like an extraordinary large representation of a cell.
The verbal jousting would probably have worked better
in a more confined and intimate space.
But the situation
changes dramatically following the introduction of Ray
at the beginning of the play’s second act, which
is set in a hotel room. Schofield injects quickfire, sharp
and poignant observations, which are often spiced up with
a lot of humour. This drew a great response from the Everyman
audience, with lines about the way people have to double-deal
and rip off people to make a quick buck and life in general.
Some of his references - for instance about a guy called
Echo - who repeats everything one says to him, and named
after the venerable Liverpool Echo, would have been lost
on audiences outside of Merseyside.
There is a
totally unexpected end to the production. Like in life,
things don't always appear to be what they seem.
Colin
Serjent
Catalyst
Media
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