Review: Rita, Sue and Bob Too, Leicester Square Theatre

Review: Rita, Sue and Bob Too, Leicester Square Theatre

Summary

Rating

20

Poor

A lot has been written over the years as to whether this problematic play should still be staged, and unfortunately this almost pantomime-esque production only complicates the matter.

In the programme, director Andrew Ashley addresses in detail that this is an extremely complicated play, which some feel should no longer be staged. It’s an ongoing debate, and back in 2018 the Royal Court’s adaptation was at one point cancelled due to the director’s behaviour, the decision later reversed before it went on to receive some acclaim.

This is all due to the subject matter, as Rita and Sue, two fifteen year old schoolgirls, are seduced by twenty-seven year old Bob. The play addresses that this is a crime, and when Bob’s wife accuses him of sleeping with the duo he angrily screams that he wouldn’t fuck “kids”. Yet this is exactly what he repeatedly does, and it’s played for laughs in the same way that Alan Clarke’s 1987 film adaptation was.

Unfortunately Diva Productions take the light-hearted tone of the film and double down on it, with many scenes feeling like they could be in a pantomime, and it’s deeply problematic. The play could work if it were a nuanced, thoughtful, and carefully considered and directed piece, but this goes for obvious laughs every time. Many of the cast are hamming it up to the extent that I’d not seen performances this broad in a major theatre before.

The sex scenes are meant to be bawdily funny, but the first involves Bob’s naked posterior bouncing up and down as he has sex with both of the girls, which feels horribly wrong given their age and immaturity. Even worse is that the play never addresses the power imbalance in the relationship. 

The domestic violence is sometimes handled poorly too. Bob’s treatment of his wife makes clear he’s an awful bully and a man who should not be admired, yet this same play also shows Sue’s father repeatedly threatening her played as broad physical comedy, which is simultaneously unpleasant and tediously repetitious. Then, when he finally does give Sue a thrashing, it occurs off stage and nothing is really said about it.

It’s been argued that the play is about female empowerment, and there are aspects of that present here. Yet it’s undercut throughout, so when Rita or Sue tease Bob and he turns angry it’s only briefly, the girls quick to forgive and forget. It does have some interesting things to say about class and the state of Britain thanks to Thatcherism, and if there was more of this it could have been a show I’d cautiously recommend.

Ultimately I don’t feel I can however. Dale Vaughan and Louis Maude as Bob and wife Michelle are both superb in their roles, but the level of acting from other cast members is so poor they come across as little more than caricatures, and ones it’s difficult to sympathise with, even though it’s clear we’re supposed to. The message here is that ‘men are awful’ – but it’s a case of telling and not showing as the characters are all but instantly forgiven. Even when the male has repeatedly behaved in a violent or criminal manner it ends up being joked about each time.

At points, performers stride through the aisles shouting at the actors on stage, adding to the light-hearted feel of this disturbing play. Subsequently, audience members felt they could also shout or heckle, which is not of course the production’s fault, but became a huge problem as they did so repeatedly. During one incredibly tense scene where Bob is finally exposed as deeply unpleasant, there was repeated heckling, leading to some audience laughter and the cast having to pause before they could resume, which sucked all the tension from the scene. By the end the audience was booing and cheering certain characters, and considering the subject matter this was quite appalling.

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Written by: Andrea Dunbar
Direction by: Andrew Ashley 
Touring & Production Manager: Andy Fretwell 
Head of Stage: Gary Kidd 
Properties/Set by: Susie Rowley

Rita, Sue and Bob Too is now on tour, playing dates across the country until October 25th. Further information and booking are available here.