Review: Love In Slough, Hope Theatre

The piece is based on the songs of Phil Craddock (philcraddockmusic.co.uk) described as a musician with a varied mix of styles, sung by Alexander Williams with recorded backing tracks. The music is easy to listen to with various styles showcased, as promised. 

Some songs stand out more than others, the opener and ‘Life is made for living’ in particular. Williams does not have the strongest of voices, but he is obviously an accomplished singer and was suited to the small venue. It would, however, be a good idea to cut the amount of clear time left at the end of each song. Having some kind of ‘outro’ to signal the end of a particular section is fair enough, but the silent standing still waiting for applause each time extended just that bit too long and came across as needy.

Shoehorning songs into a narrative can also lead to some odd moments. There is an excellent song about the desperation of unemployment sung by a character who, moments before, was describing his very comfortable lifestyle and telling us money was not a problem. It jarred a bit. Another perfectly good song about birds seemed better suited to a children’s TV programme. I am still a bit bewildered by the whole thing about birds, actually.

Williams does a good job portraying the narrator, Jack, and a couple of other characters along the way. He has a sports bag with him, which is a bit Mary Poppins-like in that it seems to contain a never-ending array of props used throughout.  The comedy is like the music, amusing, easy to consume and undemanding. Not so much belly laughs, more a constant stream of smiles and giggles. Nothing wrong with that. It could even be added to, emphasising the ridiculousness of Jack’s personality, or making more use of the surroundings. The incongruity of a scene describing the colour and vibrancy of Brazil in a small dark room with black walls was an opportunity lost.

I am hoping we were not supposed to feel much sympathy for Jack, who is a bit of a self-absorbed ‘Oh, woe is me’ type. It is billed as a ‘musical comedy’ though, so I think we were supposed to laugh at him.  The whole thing is only an hour long, and that passed quickly (just as well as it was a pretty stifling evening). Overall, this is an entertaining, well-performed one-man show. The musical bit is pretty much spot on, but a bit more emphasis on the comedy side would be beneficial.

Writer: Alexander Williams
Composer: Phil Craddock

You can read more about this show in our recent interview here.

Love In Slough has completed its run at the Hope Theatre