Sadly this show was not as masterfully done as I might have hoped.
Masterclass is a one act 2 hander show starring Adrienne Truscott and Feidlim Cannon playing the role of an esteemed author and an eccentric interviewer. The show starts off as a farcical absurdist comedy with larger than life bizarre characters acting bizarrely on stage, before transforming into something far more serious discussing misogyny and intersectionality with scant comedic moments.
My primary issue with this show concerns this beginning comedic section. I say the beginning, but it actually encompasses about 3 quarters of the show’s runtime, and in my view, it really does not work. It is clearly intended to be comedic, but I failed to genuinely laugh at any point. All of the comedy felt pretty basic and detached from everything else. The funny moments and movements could be lifted and put into another show and they would not seem out of place. There was some polite laughter from the audience but nothing more than that. This is a shame, as there is a definite tonal shift part way through, which would have been more effective had the first section been funnier. The tonal shift starts with some not so subtle references to Quentin Tarantino and some of the, let’s charitably say, problematic things he has done in his career. This merging into the more serious is where I started to engage far more with this production.
Despite my misgivings with the first section, once the characters switch and the show completely changes, I found it all far more interesting. It becomes quite uncomfortable to watch, but this is entirely intentional and forces the audience to properly engage with and consider the points being put forward. Had there been a greater focus on this part of the show, I would have enjoyed it far more, but this section, even though it was the most interesting bit, was far too short. It felt like there was an awful lot of lead up to this moment, and then the moment itself was far too fleeting.
The performances themselves I find quite difficult to judge. It is not clear to me whether the acting for the “comedic” section was intentionally bad, or whether it was meant to be convincing and amusing. The show is written by the 2 actors along with Gary Keegan, and given the nature of the show, which discusses the creative process around the making of the show, I would be fascinated to know the behind the scenes of how this production came about.
Ultimately, there was something really good in this show, but sadly a lot that just did not work for me. Masterclass is playing at the Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall until Sunday 12th May.