REVIEW: THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF PAUL @ THE HEN & CHICKENS THEATRE

🎭 The Strange Affair of Paul

📍  The Hen & Chickens Theatre, 109 St Paul's Road, London, N1 2NA                           

🗓 Monday 05 August 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QUIRKY DETECTIVE DRAMA THAT'S PAUL-SITIVELY ENTERTAINING

Callum Jones’s one-man performance marked my first show of this year’s Camden Fringe Festival. In it, Jones becomes a stereotypical detective, determined to get to the bottom of why a contestant on The Traitors Australia had such limited screen time. The contestant in question? Paul.

With a hilarious film noir accent, Detective Sam Marlowe presents his “evidence,” seamlessly blending pre-recorded sketches shown on a projector with witty commentary. These on-screen sketches cleverly depict Marlowe's reactions to moments from both the UK and Australian versions of the show, his fondness for Claudia Winkleman (and her fringe) and screenshots showing Paul’s lack of airtime compared to other contestants.

Jones had the audience in stitches throughout the performance. His humour was light-hearted and silly, and the delivery was well-timed. Despite the satirical nature of the play and the admittedly low stakes, I found myself fully invested in the plot, eagerly awaiting the reason behind Paul’s minimal screen presence.

One aspect I particularly liked was the pace at which the evidence was shown to us. Jones skilfully lingered on certain moments, such as his hilarious email exchange with a Network 10 employee, which while inappropriate harked back to the antiquated exchanges between men and women that would have likely cropped up in the film noir era.

Initially, I wondered if Jones might be relying too heavily on the material displayed on the screen. But I soon realised the balance was well-struck, with Jones’s live performance offering just as much as the visuals behind him.

All in all, Jones summed it up perfectly when he thanked everyone for coming to his ‘strange little show’. Strange it was, but it was also fun, experimental, and thoroughly enjoyable.

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 Strange Affair of Paul was gifted by Callum Jones 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.