Edinburgh Festivals

Fringe 2001

White Van Man
Wisepart Productions

Wisepart Productions offers an hour of humour with Dave, the 'average Englishman', travelling in his white van while trying to raise enough money to take his daughter to Disneyland.

Apparently the inspiration for the hero of White Van Man comes from the concept of the bloke-on-the-street developed by the Sun for a Saturday column. Dave is self-employed after being fired from a previous job as an air traffic controller ('lose one blip and everyone's on your case'). His other projects, a Gary Glitter lookalike and Gorillagram, are also not doing so well.

Although the idea of driving a van for a living seems quite boring, Dave (effectively portrayed by Andy Spiers) keeps himself - and the audience - more than entertained. Whether playing 'recognise the species of dead creature on the side of the road', indulging in his favourite pastime of road rage or simple going on a rant about life, the universe and everything, Dave has the audience rolling in the aisles. Martin Beaumont's script is excellent, brimming with fastpaced humour and gags. The direction is also remarkable: it is amazing how many different angles and uses there could be for a white van positioned in the centre of the stage.

One of the great strengths of the production is that there does not appear to be any underlying political or moral statement. The character of Dave is presented to us and we can decide for ourselves what to make of him. What one superficially sees in Dave is a person who is amusing and has some insight into society and political issues. Behind this guise, however, is a sad failure of a character, caught in a vicious circle of debt, who is scraping around for £40 to allow him to go to Disneyland.

Dave is reduced to living an unproductive life driving a van around, with garden gnomes and nodding dogs for company. Dave is a little too familiar, a little too close to home: there are elements of him in many people you meet, maybe even yourself. His pub philosophy, crude political views and celebrity obsessions, expounded with such self-confidence, are initially humorous. Upon reflection, however, it makes one feel slightly uncomfortable that one can connect with him so well. The fact that White Van Man makes one feel this way is entirely to its credit.