🎭 The Good, The Bad, The Silly
📍 Barons Court Theatre, 28a Comeragh Rd, London W14 9HR
🗓 Thursday 25 July 2024
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THE PERFECT BALANCE OF SILLINESS AND DEPTH
When I settled into my seat at Barons Court Theatre for THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE SILLY I was unsure what to expect. To warm up the audience, the play’s cheerful and childlike barman, excellently portrayed by Luke Rose, welcomed us into his saloon bar, offering a taste of his ‘special home brew’ and inviting us to imagine how the bar might be decorated for the rest of the show.
As the action unfolds, various personalities come and go in this bar: an outlaw, thief, sheriff, inventor, doctor, priest, and madame. Each character has no memory of how they got there. We hear their stories and watch as they hilariously interact with one another in this bar, which is described early on as being halfway between life and death. I should have caught on to where the story was heading with these hints, but I didn’t. When everything tied together neatly at the end, revealing the connections between the characters, it made me an even bigger fan than I already was.
This play is described as a ‘wacky slapstick adventure,’ which made me a little apprehensive as I don’t usually find slapstick that funny. However, it was so much more than that. I was giggling throughout and found each character really likeable, despite their flaws.
Audience engagement was a significant part of this performance. We were invited to chip in at various points, with one audience member even going up on stage to perform in a scene. The cast wittily improvised scenes like this one, seamlessly weaving them into the story and demonstrating real skill.
For me, this play struck the perfect balance of humor, silliness (as per the title), and depth. It invited me to ponder big questions — how our choices impact others over the course of our lives and what life after death might look like — while also filling me with joy and boosting my mood.
The ensemble was very talented, with a couple of them — namely Vilma Kitula and Cameron Carlson — playing several different characters throughout the play’s 70-minute runtime. Daniel Pirie, who played the protagonist, did an excellent job taking the audience on his journey of self-discovery.
The play also featured special guest actor Amelie Arocha from White City Youth Theatre, which was a great opportunity provided by Broken Gods Theatre Company to young people aspiring to a career in acting. The theatre company Broken Gods will also be donating a percentage of ticket sales to this organisation.
If you want an evening of laughs and thought-provoking entertainment (who doesn’t?), I’d 100% recommend seeing this play.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE SILLY has now concluded its run but make sure you're following Broken Gods on their social media platforms for news of upcoming performances. You can also access their website here.
Estelle Luck
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 The Good, The Bad, The Silly was gifted by Broken Gods Productions who invited me to watch the show on behalf of Pink Prince Theatre 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.
CAST LIST:
Daniel Pirie as Black Hat; Luke Rose as Barman; Cameron Carlson as Sheriff / Doctor / Priest; Vilma Kitula as Rob Steal / Madam / Inventor; Amelie Arocha as Prospector
RUNNING TIME (approx):
1 hour 10 minutes, with no interval
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