Review: Paul Weller Takes Tea at Two, Riverside Studios

How far would you go to see your favourite band or band member? For Doc O’Connor (Demet Dayanch), she stands at a bus stop in Maida Vale hoping to see her idol, Paul Weller, who has tea at two every day at the café across the street. Doc is ecstatic at the idea of seeing Paul Weller as she skips and dances while listening to his music on her headphones, but soon it becomes apparent that not everything is as cheerful as it may seem. As Doc indulges in daydreams about Paul Weller, thoughts around her dark past involving a childhood consisting of domestic violence and unfathomable grief begin to intercede, and she is soon caught in a painful storm of memories, which are further validated by Doc’s younger sister Lisa.

Paul Weller Takes Tea at Two is reminiscent of Tennessee Williams’ play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire,‘ with two sisters at odds with one another. One sister struggles with mental illness while the other tries to offer as much support as she can, all the while coming to terms with sharing the same painful upbringing. The writing is beautifully balanced, telling a story with hard topics, but done in a way which is not judgmental towards Doc. Rather than portraying her as a woman who struggles with mental illness, she is depicted as a modette of the late 1970s and early 1980s who has used Paul Weller’s music as a source of comfort during hard times. 

The set blends 1970s and 1980s London with 2025 London in a surrealist manner. This is the way we are shown different aspects of Doc’s life. At times, one is unsure what time period the action is taking place in, and it isn’t until Lisa reminds Doc that they are living in 2025 that awareness occurs. Dayanch’s performance celebrates Doc in the same surrealist and non-judgmental manner. Doc is someone who has experienced unimaginable pain, which has had a permanent effect on her mental well-being. Yet, despite everything that has happened to her, Doc remains a die-hard Paul Weller fan. The point of the show is to jump between reality and fiction within the music culture of the time. Doc’s thoughts on the economic and social turmoil of the late 1970s, which detail the strikes, fan culture and politics, are also very much a reflection of the economic and social issues of 2025. Therefore, a degree of uncertainty is hardly surprising. 

The production does contain strong language and themes of domestic abuse, violence and death, which should be taken into consideration, but Paul Weller Takes Tea at Two is recommended for fans of late 1970s’ Mod subculture and the music of the time, and for any fans of surrealist theatre. 

Written by Tony Hyland
Directed by Zazi the Artist

Paul Weller Takes Tea at Two plays at Riverside Studio’s Bitesize Festival until Saturday 26 July