Review: Six Kinds of Wednesday, Bread and Roses Theatre

Writer’s block can be tough. Especially when you’re a vampire who can’t work out how to finish your debut album.

It’s 1989, and at 23, Valentine (Will Hamilton) has finally been recognised by April (Polly Maltby), the girl he’s had a crush on since year 7. After a chance encounter at the arcade, she asks him to meet her at 11pm the next night, proposing that they run away together. Without much else going on in his life, and with no familial ties, Valentine agrees. Waiting for the hour to roll around, he starts writing a song. It’s a song that catches the ear of Abhartach (Scott Slocombe), who offers him another proposal: help him finish his album, and he’ll… Well, there’s not really much in it for Valentine, actually. Unfortunately, he can’t say no, because Abhartach is a vampire and decides to kidnap him. This is a reasonable reaction to feeling stuck on a creative project.

One jam session in Abhartach’s lair later, accompanied on drums by Edward Hole (who also narrates portions of the story), Valentine is committed to the project and ready to make some hits.

The performances in Six Kinds of Wednesday are bigger than the intimate Bread and Roses stage, Slocombe’s wannabe-rockstar vampire swaggering across the stage and Hole stealing scenes with his dual portrayals of Malbard and skeezy barman Elvis. Both interact with the audience from time to time: we are told from the start that we are the legions of the undead currently living in Abhartach’s house. It’s a testament to their strength as performers that this never feels forced or uncomfortable.

Each character is wonderfully distinct and they all feel three-dimensional from their first appearances, a commendable feat given the play’s short runtime. Allusions to backstories are introduced with a light touch, and the developing relationships between the ensemble – which span days, weeks and years – are performed with nuance.

More serious aspects of the plot perhaps get a little too elevated, and the play’s final scene complicates things, leaving the story’s exact level of tragedy up in the air. However, the overall balance between drama and comedy works well and the cast are able to switch between the two tones with ease.

The musical component is excellent; two guitars, a keyboard, a drum kit and, somehow perfectly, a saxophone, creating an impressive soundtrack that feels like it could, with a little polish, gain a cult following. Any show that features an interactive pub quiz, with questions shouted out in a quickfire song and answer sheets laid out on the seats, has got to be doing something right.

Six Kinds of Wednesday is funny but has real emotional depth. Given a few small tweaks, it’s easy to imagine this show gaining widespread popularity.

Presented by Sleaze Theatre
Writer and director: Scott Slocombe
Music and Lyrics: Scott Slocombe & Oliver Magor
Assistant Director: Gemma Upton
Branding Designer: Gustav Melbardis
Sound and Lighting: Matthew Hamilton

Six Kinds of Wednesday plays at the Bread & Roses Theatre until Wednesday 28 October.