At a loose end and need cheering up? Then go down memory lane with Matthew McConaughey - who else? - as he gets involved with a nerd in a video store in south London and helps him find his true self - or does he? Summary
Rating
Good
This is a wacky, surreal comedy romp set in a video store – I’ve thrown all mine away, haven’t you? – where the nerdy assistant, Leonard (Kieran Slade), is desperately looking for love or indeed just any connection with the opposite sex. He is ably supported by his colleague Jasmine (Isabella Inchbald), all under the supervision of German manager Elyse (Rosina Aichner). Leonard takes home Dazed and Confused – remember that home video sensation, folks???- and lo and behold Matthew McConaughey (Adam Fitzgerald), no less, is summoned back from the dead, so to speak, and like a genie out of a bottle offers Leonard three wishes.
Cue transformation of nerd Leonard into Leo Grand, sun-glasses toting, hip-swirling Texan dude who takes over Leonard’s job (who has mysteriously disappeared from the store). But even Leo’s path to true love does not go smoothly. Jasmine, bemused, gets in on the act, while the German director Mrs Muller (Inchbald again with perfect Teutonic archness and accent) promotes him, and Matthew returns to grant two more wishes to further Leo’s cause.
Fitzgerald imbues McConaughey with much more energy than I frankly ever remember dear Matthew ever having. He gets some laughs by exploiting the bonkers idea of the rom-com star helping our anti-hero in this bizarre set-up. Fitzgerald has a running gag appearing in every new scene with a different wig to cover his thinning hair, until finally revealing a bald scalp with wispy bits (another make-up sensation- ehem!). By the way the biggest laugh comes from his announcing he’d never seen so many weird people as in Crystal Palace.
As you may gather from this speedy plot outline, there is a huge dollop of suspension of disbelief needed, but this is a farce where surreal beats real, hands down. It is a new piece by Fitzgerald and, to be honest, has a very undergraduate feel about it, with some structural moments and transitions still to be sorted out. The acting stakes are variable but there is some good comic timing especially from Slade and Inchbald, who give it their all, both vocally and physically. Slade’s delivery is strong and he finds comic variety, especially when he doesn’t play to the gallery. Inchbald reminded me of Big Bang Theory’s Penny, getting maximum humour by being totally dead-pan and just bemused at all the mayhem happening around her all the time!
Alright, alright, alright is crude and silly and frankly needs more work to keep the dramatic drive surging to a better climax than the one offered here. But if you have “time to kill” (geddit?), return to your student days, have a pint beforehand and then get another one for the 85 minute show and then get another drink afterwards and have a laugh and a giggle. Ibsen it ain’t, but go and become a member of the Penge Buyers Club, that is the always welcoming Bridge House Theatre.
Written by: Adam Fitzgerald
Directed and designed by: Neta Gracewell
Produced by: Adam Fitzgerald
Lighting and sound design by: Theodor Spiridon
Alright, Alright, Alright plays at Bridge House Theatre until Saturday 24 May.
