The panto season takes a twisted extension in West London through the opening of this new comedy showing the drama behind the curtain. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the piece, to let us know if its storyline is innovative or either more like Dame Partington and her mop.
Welcome, dear readers, to a new show review
Where I, once again, all my venom will spew
Make room for a tale about sewers and rats
And some heroes and princesses - all of whom are twats
There's no time for foreplay, we'd rather be quick
Let's get down so we deal with rock-hard Mister Dick
Yes, I know, I know… You’re feeling a bit aroused now. It’s normal. We all miss those delicious cakes and sausages from the holiday season – and the warm milk from (I mean, for!) Santa too. No other daddy pampers you better than Father Christmas, I’ll tell you that… And of course, panto period (no, it’s not that they’re faking it…). Christmas must be over (though the lights in Embankment may happen to disagree…), but there’s still the opportunity to enjoy a night with furry friends, handsome leads (depends on the budget) and old-queenie crossdressers without opening your Grindr account. Not that I know of the latter… No comment.
Enter Look Behind You, a new comedy exploring the behind-the-scenes mayhem of a small regional production struggling to survive. Written by Daniel Wain and directed by Barney Hart Dyke, the piece centers around a group of frustrated performers endeavouring to cope with a show (and troupe) bound for disaster. A gripping, amusing premise to part from, the idea, similar to previous works like Noises Off but with enough space to make a path of its own, has in fact great potential. But sadly, much of it seems to have been left behind.
Though properly structuring the characters through well-defined, complementary archetypes, the script fails to explore them in a manner that provides much of a story arc. Instead, quite a static exposition of their traits and motivations is presented – with, unfortunately, no evolution whatsoever except for the lead role. Played by, his part as the company manager/director/actor/producer manages to state his conflict, but much like the rest of the cast, he doesn’t go through enough progress other than an abrupt and a bit dissatisfying resolution.
As for the dialogue, despite some lines prompting an honest laugh, much of its humour doesn’t land, quite unfortunately. A misconception of the style it needs is probably the issue. Set throughout several renditions of Dick Whittington, the writing struggles to separate its fictional panto jokes with the backstage scenes, which though farcical, require more bitterness and a more adult perspective to be effective. Instead, too many punchlines feel either excessively juvenile or unnatural – giving more the impression of being forced in rather than merging organically with the conversation.
At the same time, the show misses its greatest opportunity: to poke fun at the panto form. Musicals like Spamalot or even more recent creations such as Back To The Future have satirized its own genre with sassy spoofs on many of its elements. Look Behind You only does that once, wistfully – with the rest of the panto snippets, thus, contributing very little to the narrative other than establishing background. But once that’s already done, there’s not much else than they can bring. In addition, the pacing for many of the scenes seems off and, quite recurringly, rushed – with several cuts feeling unjustified, as they don’t lead to a strong enough climax to give reason for a change in time or space.
Taking off from an excellent ground, Look Behind You captures lighting in a bottle with its rough outline, but unwillingly lets it all out through a script that doesn’t succeed in emanating the same charm and brilliance. The show can be saved, but for that to happen, a full revision will be necessary to allow the piece to breathe. Show must always go on, but only when it’s ready to fly on its own.
All pictures credit to Marc Brenner.
Look Behind You plays at London’s Theatre at the Tabard until 3 February. Tickets are available on the following link.