Deadlock Review by Philip Shell |
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At the request of the writer Peter Benedict, I am unable to divulge the plot in this play: that is just as well as the plot became so twisted that it seemed to twist and twist and twist and yet further just for the sake of it. A gentleman in the audience upon leaving summed up the play, “too much talking not enough acting.” There are 4 main characters in the play, or was it 5? With Simon Ward leading the way as Robert Marlowe, a Member of Parliament married to his wife Isobelle Marlowe played by Karen Drury, who appears for just one very short scene in Act One Scene 2. Both have an open marriage, with Robert having frequent liaisons with Rent-Boys. One or was it two of those, was played by Ashley George, with two very different accents. Ashley is a young and upcoming actor. Unfortunately for Ashley he made an issue out of a scenery malfunction which was no where near him, and this detracted from the serious nature of his dialogue at that crucial point. Richard Driscoll as Mark Dalton the PA and Confidant to Robert was I am afraid to say totally unconvincing in his role. At one point Robert makes reference to a poor cockney accent by Ashley, to the effect that the last time he had heard such a bad accent there was a guy on a roof top surrounded by chimney sweeps. I feel that would have been more appropriate for Richard. The acting was somewhat laboured throughout, and the pace of delivery painful at times. There was some gentle humour and there were certainly twists in the tale. The set was functional, and the lighting effect at the beginning on the play with the car headlights was effective. This was a sad end to what has been a good series of performances at the theatre. Philip Shell |