Chiswick’s Theatre at the Tabard welcomes the London transfer of this new comedy starring Tim Marriott and Angela Bull, playing until the middle of the month after its first run at the Edinburgh fringe. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show, to let us know if this comedy play about employer-worker relationships is getting redundant.
Ah, I still remember the joys of working in a office! The constant shouting from incompetent bosses that thought that new better than everybody else. The sour bitchiness from your colleagues being the yearly bonus you’d take home. And that increasing filling of fulfilling your American psycho dream and become a Buddhist by getting rid of all the negativity… FOREVER. Well, I had to leave Spain for a reason, you see? (Make it sound Welsh). And after that, take a dive into the last place you’d ever want to be: your annual report in front of your superior. It doesn’t matter how hard you work, nobody cares about the skills you’ve acquired. It’s all about how well you play your cards. For this is never an honest game.
The beginning of Spring also marks the bloom of new comedies at Chiswick’s Theatre at the Tabard. Until the middle of the month, the venue will be hosting Appraisal, a piece by Tim Marriott arriving to London after its original run at the Edinburgh Fringe. A two-hander narrative dealing with the frustrating relationship between a committed worker and a mischievous employer, the script presents us with a much promising premise bringing out the expectations as for what’s to come. And to some extent, it sticks to its vow.
Despite not presenting us with too many surprises either through the plot or dialogue (it’s only fair to say that the first minutes halt the pacing excessively by using too much exposition), the recount still manages to be entertaining as a whole – giving us a few enjoyable moments which, though not as cunning or twisted as one would wish (but then again, you don’t wanna know what I crave for…), succeed in providing us with an overall mildly amusing (and except for a couple of excerpts) engaging tale.
Penned with sufficient naturalness and performed with discreet yet compelling energy, the delivery of both the material and its interpretation feels polished, but anyhow requires further tweaks to allow it to take off and, in the end, let its humour land. Tim Marriott (also starring as one of the lead) and Angela Bull make a delightful couple onstage, exuding chemistry and rapport all through their portrayals. However, both writing and direction do not allow their entire potential to be explored, constraining the story’s organic stamina and preventing the blast from finally happen – through a rendition, which though realistic, compromises the effectiveness of its humour.
A hot desk of funny observations on the too recurring toxic work environment, Appraisal crosses enough check points to make of it a moderately interesting account, but clips its wings a bit too much by not letting its latent extremer undertone pour through. The key to comedy is often absurdity. And job situations have so much in their own reality, it would only come as fake to make any scenario within an enterprise look anywhere near normal. The proof was in the pudding when I quit my office position – or actually, the fudge I left on their tables. I’ve always come as sweet, you see? (Welsh again).
All pictures credit to Charles Flint.
Appraisal plays at London’s Theatre at the Tabard until 13 April. Tickets are available on the following link.