🎭 Goodbye, Mr Coffee
📍 40 Bowling Green Walk, Pitfield Street, London, N1 6EU
🗓 Friday 02 August 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A HUMOROUS OBSERVATION ON LIFE AND DEATH
GOODBYE, MR. COFFEE is the first play from Brian Voakes and explores the uncertainty of life and death and is filled with eloquent storytelling.
Based on the lived experience of Voakes we meet Robert who has just retired. An active man all his life, Robert struggles to adjust to the 'slowing down' and enrols himself onto an acting course. He enjoys his life and seems to persue a healthy lifestyle, cycling around London. One day Robert believes he's having a heart attack and finds himself in hospital, where he ends up having a prolonged stay.
On his hospital ward he finds a confidante in Harvey, a man who is significantly iller than himself, and together they discuss life, death, families, and all manner of subjects. To one side of him is a man he nicknames Mr Coffee because of the strange gurgling noises he makes which are reminiscent of a coffee percolator.
The scene where to two friends independently stay awake all night as Mr Coffee passes away was extremely poignant and was an exquisite and powerful piece of theatre.
The script itself is very well written, and the use of descriptive language is wondrous, really creating strong visuals in your mind as you listen to the story being told. Similarly the acting on display was superb.
I couldn't help thinking however that the presentation of the piece was wrong. Rather than having everything acted out, I felt that it would have been better depicted as a monologue. If Voakes had just been sat in an armchair or on a bar stool and just told his story I think it would have had more gravitas.
This would have done away with what I felt were unnecessary props and distractions and would have allowed us to be able to focus more on the beauty of the words and really feel a connection with the piece.
I also found the staging a bit bizarre. On entry I was directed to sit in one of the eight seats which were in a semi-circle on the stage. I found this rather intriguing but quickly found this to be pointless. I was genuinely unsure what the purpose of this seating was.
Voakes frequently circled the seats - either on foot, walking or on a bicycle - but this actually made those of us sitting in them feel left out as it meant the story was being played out to the rest of the audience and we were forgotten.
I would personally remove this aspect from any future development of the piece and just leave the focus on the words and the story itself.
A bit of a mixed review but I do feel that with a few changes this could be a really strong piece of theatre and I'm sure this isn't the last we'll see of it.
GOODBYE, MR COFFEE was playing at The Courtyard Theatre as part of this year's Camden Fringe.
Neill Kovacic-Clarke
All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one reviewer.
My ticket for this performance of Goodbye, Mr Coffee was gifted by the show's producer who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.
WRITTEN BY AND STARRING:
Brian Voakes as Robert
Featuring the voice of Harvey Rendell as Harvey
RUNNING TIME (approx):
1 hour, with no interval
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Themes of illness and death
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