Review: Hellbent Or a Sorry Sight in the West, Club Silly

Hidden down a dark alleyway behind the bright lights and crowds of Brixton, under the railway arches, lies Club Silly and, for just over two weeks, the town of Quick Finish Bend. There to welcome you with a cheery ‘howdy pardner’ (and possibly help you find the venue), are cowboys whose skin-tight, enhanced outfits leave little to the imagination.

Quick Finish Bend is a rude and raucous place, and to let you know, Hellbent begins with a song and dance number about eating pussy and sucking cock. I wasn’t really clear how integral it was to the plot but as a scene-setter it was certainly eye-opening. And this production is both very ballsy (literally and figuratively) and very fun. Hellbent is the story of the fiery outlaw Calico, who has been dumped by her lover Colonel Lyle for the virginal Bernice. Her attempts to undermine that relationship and win him back end in tragedy. It’s inspired by a play written in 1701 by Jane Wiseman (one of very few published female playwrights of the period) called Antiochus the Great, but transposed to the American Wild West. Maybe as a nod to its literary heritage, it’s partly written in rhyming verse which adds a poetic tinge to a play. Rhyming couplets and cowboys sounds a bit strange, but this play works.

The energy of the cast is infectious and the performance (directed by Anna Gion and Katie Luchtenburg) is very physical and upbeat. Its knowingly camp silliness is wholeheartedly embraced by the cast who look like they’re having a whale of a time. It would be hard to single out one actor for praise as they work so well as an ensemble, but credit must go to the writer and lead performer Gion as Calico who comes across as a force of nature. She’s hugely enjoyable to watch. 

The body of the action is played under a railway arch, with the audience on benches and at trestle tables in the heart of the action. There are places left vacant for the actors within the audience, which gives the performance a welcome immersive twist. It’s a small venue and the interaction with the crowd is lighthearted and inclusive. There are moments when the action is slightly obscured but it’s worth it for the proximity to the performers. 

I would have liked to have seen a bit more consistency in the costuming. It looks like they only had enough leather and spurs for two actors. Cameltoe and Mooseknuckle looked more like circus performers than cowboys. I also wasn’t clear about the need for the character Doily. At points it felt like the play was rude for the sake of being shocking rather than to add to the dramatic narrative, and it and could perhaps have been funnier if it had been less explicit and relied more on innuendo. The musical interludes are really enjoyable and there is probably room for more in the production. 

Hellbent is funny, sparkly, anarchic and highly entertaining. It’s a brave and fun piece of theatre: the devil’s child of Oklahoma and a pantomime. It hoe-downs you all the way to its unexpectedly dramatic conclusion, and leaves you doesy-doeing your way into the night.

Written by Anna Gion
Directed by Anna Gion and Katie Luchtenburg

Hellbent: Or a Sorry Sight in the West Runs at Arch 555 at Club Silly until Saturday 24 October