Synopsis A play set in Manchester about an evening class of would be comedians during the mid-70's. A time when Bernard Manning and co were the kings of comedy and Harold Wilson struggled to lead a country rocked by IRA bombs and wracked by industrial strife. A time when Bowie, Abba and Bay City Rollers were topping the charts and fashion was not retro-chic, just embarrassing. 'Comedians' is one of the landmark plays of the 70's, a combination of tense drama, high entertainment and socio-political debate. Not suitable for children
Sean Holmes made his directorial debut as the new artistic director of the Lyric Hammersmith on Wednesday night (14 October 2009, previews from 7 October) with a revival of Trevor Griffiths’ 1975 play Comedians, which continues its limited season until 14 November (See 1st Night Photos, 15 Oct 2009).
Six wannabe comedians attend an evening class at a school in Manchester in preparation for a performance in front of London agent. Faded music hall star acts Eddie Waters acts as their tutor, in an age when comedians wore dicky bows and political correctness was decades away.
The original production of Comedians, seen in London at the National Theatre after its premiere at the Nottingham Playhouse, starred Jimmy Jewel as Eddie and Jonathan Pryce as aspirant Gethin Price. Pryce later reprised his role in the show’s Broadway transfer. There hasn’t been a major London production of the play in nearly 20 years, though Holmes did revive it in a 2001 tour that starred Ron Moody as Eddie and David Tennant as Gethin.
Most first night critics consider Comedians a “period piece” whose “state of the nation” appeal has diminished somewhat because the state of this nation, and particularly its comedy culture, has changed so much since the 1970s. However, critics still found the Trevor Griffiths’ play at turns “bold”, “daring”, “unsettling” and “thought-provoking” in Holmes’ “meticulous” production that “retains its crusading vitality” and chimes nicely with today’s “karaoke culture”. The various performances were all roundly applauded, with particular praise heaped on David Dawson’s “stunning” turn as Gethin, played with “chilling intensity”.
Michael Coveney on Whatsonstage.com (four stars) – “As a play about the art of comedy and its wellsprings, Trevor Griffiths’ 1975 play is unmatched. And Sean Holmes’ superb revival, his first as artistic director at the Lyric Hammersmith, confirms the play’s status as a modern classic. It’s a fantastic evening of theatre... David Dawson makes the role (of Gethin Price) his own … Reece Shearsmith and Mark Benton are excellent, too, as the brothers whose act falls apart as they perform it; Billy Carter and Michael Dylan are wittily juxtaposed as the Irish comedians; and Kulvinder Ghir provides a devastating cameo as Mr Patel … Holmes’ fierce production makes no bones about staying in period, and Anthony Lamble’s design is as authentic as was John Gunter’s original. At a time when crass talent contests rule the television schedules, it’s good to have a renewed look at why showbusiness ‘matters’ and why there’s more to it, or should be, than instant fame and material gratification.”
Fiona Mountford in the Evening Standard (three stars) – “Comedians (1975), considered by many to be one of the best plays of that decade, makes us realise uneasily how greatly stand-up, but even more crucially our perception of entertainment, has evolved in three decades. State-of-the-nation dramas have a nasty habit of falling flat when removed from the particular era that inspired them. While Comedians certainly shouldn’t be booed off stage now, it’s not going to be gifted any slots on primetime television … Sean Holmes’ production leaves us feeling stranded … The biggest laughs of the evening are in danger of coming ironically from the play’s title ... Matthew Kelly is even more dour than the role demands, and if it weren’t for the sparkiness of the livewire David Dawson, we might occasionally think we’d wandered into an evening class for undertakers.”
Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph(three stars) – Trevor Griffiths scored the biggest hit of his career with Comedians(1975), an extremely serious play about what makes us laugh. If that sounds like a mixed compliment, it’s meant to. There are some great jokes, some beautifully drawn characters and a moving depth of feeling in this play. But there is also far too much earnestness, moments when you feel that Griffiths, the unrepentant Lefty, is the victim of a terrible sense of humour failure. There is, however, no doubt that Griffiths had a great dramatic idea here … It all makes for theatre that is at once funny, unsettling and thought-provoking ... Director Sean Holmes beautifully captures the sleazy milieu of the comedy world … Matthew Kelly brings a lovely sad, battered dignity to the stage as the old comedian, Keith Allen is authentically vile as Challenor, while David Dawson plays the charismatic, hate-filled rebel with a Marxist cause with chilling intensity. Oddly enough though, by far the funniest performance comes from Paul Rider, who turns the tiny roles of a caretaker and a club secretary into pure comic gold.”
Michael Billington in the Guardian(three stars) - “First seen in 1975, Trevor Griffiths' play is a bold and daring work. It doesn't just analyse comedy. It presents it in its raw state, while obliquely commenting on class, race, gender and the condition of Britain. But, delighted as I am to see Sean Holmes reviving the play, I can't help feeling the cultural context in which we view it has radically changed … The kind of prejudice reinforcing comedy Griffiths was attacking may still exist, but it no longer occupies the central position it did on TV in the 1970s … The piece itself remains an extraordinary mix of wordplay and state-of-the-nation drama. It calls for exceptional acting, and it certainly gets it from David Dawson in the role of Gethin … It is a stunning performance, strongly buttressed by Matthew Kelly as the weary but still optimistic Waters, and by Keith Allen as the commercialised Challenor …Griffiths’ play is of its time but, in Holmes’ meticulous production it retains its crusading vitality.”
Dominic Maxwell in The Times(four stars) – “Trevor Griffiths was hunting some big game in 1975... This revival by Sean Holmes can’t have the same impact now, fine though it is — the comedy mainstream that these men lean towards or against has changed for good ... This is a period piece, yet it’s organised around what’s effectively a talent contest, chiming nicely with our karaoke culture ... Amid the laughs — Comedians is stuffed with jokes, though it’s not exactly a comedy — there’s constant conflict. Reece Shearsmith and Mark Benton excel as a warring double act of brothers ... And David Dawson, animated, almost camp in the Pryce role as the comic revolutionary Gethin Price, is brilliant ... There are strong performances from Billy Carter as the Belfast comic George McBrain and Michael Dylan as the well-meaning Irishman Mick Connor ... Kelly has a fidgetiness that takes away from Waters’ gravitas, which disrupts the rhythm of the first act. But Allen is superb, illuminating the performer’s instinct of a man who has found his niche and inhabits it with relish. And Paul Rider, excelling in two peripheral roles, has a natural comic knack that reminds us of the most important element of comedy, one that not even this wonderfully well-constructed, constantly stimulating play can add to: you’ve either got it or you haven’t.”
** DON’T MISS our Whatsonstage.com Outing to COMEDIANS on 27 October 2009 – inc a FREE programme, a FREE drink & EXCLUSIVE post-show Q&A - all for only £22!! - click here to book now! **
As a play about the art of comedy and its wellsprings, Trevor Griffiths’ 1975 play Comedians is unmatched. And Sean Holmes’ superb revival, his first as artistic director at the Lyric Hammersmith, confirms the play’s status as a modern classic. It’s a fantastic evening of theatre.
Are remarks about women, or ethnic minorities, necessarily the product of misogyny and racism? The Manchester evening class of six budding comics, assembling for their make-or-break audition under the tutelage of Eddie Waters, an old-time vaudevillian, are challenged to make their acts count.
First, Eddie (Matthew Kelly, giving his fourth remarkable stage performance of the year) urges them to be truthful. Then booking agent Bert Challenor (Keith Allen), who played on the same bill as the legendary Frank Randle and remembers Eddie being brilliant “before the war”, urges them to suck up to the audience: “We can’t all be Max Bygraves, but we can try.”
Played out in real time, with a middle act given over to the “turns” in a small club with a diffident secretary anxious to get on with the bingo, the piece has a brilliantly worked out structure, showing how the comics fall between various stools in their efforts, save for the electrified bovver boy Gethin Price (David Dawson), who releases a stream of antagonistic abuse. Gethin made Jonathan Pryce an overnight star in the original production; no one has ever rivalled that amazing performance, but I much admire the way Dawson makes the role his own, slightly crazed from the start, with a dash of Alan Cumming, pouring his whole life’s frustration as a United supporter, van driver and class enemy, into his diatribe.
Reece Shearsmith and Mark Benton are excellent, too, as the brothers whose act falls apart as they perform it; Billy Carter and Michael Dylan are wittily juxtaposed as the Irish comedians; and Kulvinder Ghir provides a devastating cameo as Mr Patel, wandering the corridors in search of his learning class and providing Eddie with his next pupil.
Holmes’ fierce production makes no bones about staying in period, and Anthony Lamble’s design is as authentic as was John Gunter’s original. At a time when crass talent contests rule the television schedules, it’s good to have a renewed look at why showbusiness “matters” and why there’s more to it, or should be, than instant fame and material gratification.
** DON’T MISS our Whatsonstage.com Outing to COMEDIANS on 27 October 2009 – inc a FREE programme, a FREE drink & EXCLUSIVE post-show Q&A - all for only £22!! - click here to book now! **
Superb production and terrific ensemble cast. David Dawson is astonishing as Gethin Price. There is still enough rascism, sexism and homophobia around to justify a revival of this wonderful play. - fred
22 Oct 09
Trevor Griffiths 1975 play has dated, but it proves to be a classic well worth reviving. It’s set in evening class for stand-up comics on the final evening of the course. In the first act we get the last lesson, in the second showcase performances in front of an agent at a local club and in the third the post mortem. Sean Holmes has done the same for the play as his excellent production of The Entertainer did for that play. He hasn’t messed with it, but he hasn’t been over-reverential. The main reason for seeing it is a faultless cast, from which I would single out Matthew Kelly’s poignant interpretation of the old comic turned teacher and a stunning performance from David Dawson in the role which made a name of Jonathan Pryce all those years ago. A great start to Holmes regime at the Lyric Hammersmith. - Gareth James
18 Oct 09
Well acted, but not sure we need this type of theatre to remind us of how our sense of humour use to rely so much on racism, homophobia and sex. - Julia
16 Oct 09
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Dark, grimly funny stuff, superbly performed by a dream cast. Highly recommended. - ajh
16 Oct 09
Dark, grimly funny stuff, superbly performed by a dream cast. Highly recommended. - ajh
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