Reviews

Satin ‘n’ Steel (Hornchurch, Queen’s Theatre)

| Off-West End |

9 February 2012

Ambition can be corrosive. Take the two characters whose professional fortunes and private relationships over a number of years who we follow in Amanda Whittington’s 2005 play. We meet them at a point where they are – more or less – back where they began. That’s in a pub upper room, the sort of place which runs talent contests in between featuring performers of both the might-have-been and would-like-to-be variety.

It’s very well served up by director Matt Devitt and even more so by designer Mark Walters, who puts before us a set which conjures both the trunk roads upon which such performers spend much more time than on any sort of stage and a succession of venues. The costume changes as time speeds by and careers develop are extremely well handled – there’s some top-notch stage management organising these behind the scenes.

The more interesting character is Teena (Kate Robson-Stuart). From a wannabe who has missed out in a talent contest, through her somewhat spikey partnership with Vince (Jonathan Markwood) – who needs someone to ginger up his fading rock’n’roll act – to her chance at the (sort of) big-time and resolution into being her own woman (as opposed to somebody else’s second-string), Robson-Stuart has the audience on her side. She also sings very well.

In many ways Vince is much less sympathetic a character. He’s a bit of a user, never quite on the level whether dealing with managements, agents, lovers, friends or colleagues. Markwood conveys all this, and puts over his numbers effectively, but you can’t warm to Vince as a person. I feel that Whittington feels much the same. She hasn’t precisely created a monster, for all the steel of his stage name he’s not hard-edged enough for that. But you wouldn’t want to work with him.