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Thick
as Thieves Group: Hard Graft |
| Natasha Hullugale | |
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Thick as Thieves is a lively slapstick black comedy. The effect is spoilt however by an attempt by the writer to end the play with a final unnecessary, shocking flourish. Unnecessary as it is not exceptionally shocking and also as the play sustains a message about the absurdity of petty criminal life very well through comedy. It was as if writer and performer Mark Whiteley felt the need to apologise for using too much humour and sought to make amends. Even if an audience is not appreciative it is even worse to see a writer apologising for their own work. The premise is simple: incompetent thieves Barry and Steph break into an apartment in the belief that the pensioner owner is on holiday, only to find that he is actually dead in the bedroom. Their incompetence is made plain as they flounder around, often becoming distracted from the job to indulge in inane conversations and squabbles, peppered with popular cultural references and childish rivalry. The two characters are a well portrayed straightforward duo of the tough guy who assumes the lead but doesn't think and the well meaning simpleton. Whiteley as the macho Steph and Daniel Hoffmann-Gill as Barry complement each other in appearance and acting. There was some genuinely amusing dialogue and successful comic timing and where the writing did not always work the two actors were charming enough to avoid any great damage to their performances. Despite the ending, Thick as Thieves is a smartly executed and compact production. It stands well on its own as a comedy and should not try and hide that approach. 31
July to 24 August.
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