Stopping off at Barons Court Theatre on their way to Edinburgh fringe, SoftPowr Productions’ and A/Park Productions’ Funny Guy tells an engrossing tale of love and misdemeanour
There are two couples: Emma and Dan, and Bill and Margie. All four subjects are in their midlife. All four subjects seem to be experiencing some undefinable, gnawing ache deep in their personhood. On the surface, all seems to be nothing more than ordinary. Living in New York, the ladies attend yoga together, the men go cycling. They each gossip amongst themselves, (though the men would be hard pressed to admit that their chatter qualifies as gossip), and we watch as the conversations they have between friends seep into the intimate scenes of their home life. Margie doesn’t think Bill makes enough money, Emma can’t seem to get the truth about anything out of Dan, Bill feels pressured to change the very things in his life that bring him comfort, and Dan believes himself to float above all of them on some pseudo-intellectual moral high ground.
The production’s dramatic structure is at the same time surprising and relatively conventional. A multitude of oddly short scenes allow us to observe decidedly brief snippets of their conversations. Though the structure verged on predictable and repetitive, the consistent addition of new information allowed for the short scenes to create palpable tension, a precise climax before the denouement – a true vestige of the well-made play structure. Playwright Patrick Nash did a good job of crafting very accessible characters. These people felt eerily familiar. Their lives, their problems in particular, appear scarily close to one’s own.
The performances of Karen Genaro Dosanjh (Emma), Clara Francesca (Margie), Jud Meyers (Dan), Jesse R. Tendler (Bill), and Tommy Vance (The Neon) were impressive. The actors all carried their roles with charming ease, seemingly absorbing themselves into their roles with specificity and familiarity. Honesty appears to drive their chemistry, which contrasts excitingly with the very dissimilar habits of their characters.
The highlight of the production is Funny Guy himself – an LED structure created by Patrick Nash. This neon marionette is genuinely larger than life, a presence that looms over the cast throughout the production. Aside from being impressive dramaturgically, this structure was truly a sight to behold. The masterful Tommy Vance took on the role of puppet master for this production. His performance was most certainly a highlight of the evening.