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“Three hilarious wiseguys threaten you with a good time. It’s an offer you can’t refuse.”

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Now look here, I’m a Lancashire born and bred gal with Italian heritage who’s been on a cruise or two. So imagine my pleasure when I saw the synopsis for Gang Bang at the Seven Dials Playhouse: “In 1945, when Sicilians were pouring onto boats for America, one man by the name of Don Lambrini accidentally boarded an all-inclusive Thomas Cook cruise to Blackpool, England”. I love every word in that sentence. 

Transferring from the Edinburgh Fringe, this three-hander plays fast and loose with its pastiche and homage to mobster films and northern references.  Narrator/protagonist Jack (played by Fabian Bevan) leads the audience on a farcical tale in which his father and mobster boss Don Lambrini (played by Freddie Cohen) must choose to whom he hands his capo-di-capo boss role when he inevitably gets whacked after accidentally landing in Blackpool instead of New York. Jack’s rival is the incredibly named Al Dente (played by Hannah Johnson). Despite their power struggle they must also fight off local Lancashire menace Fray Bentos (also played by Freddie Cohen). 

I feel like the show was practically tailor made for me- I understood all the Italian references, mobster film references; even my hometown Wigan got a mention. That is not to say I am the only one who enjoyed it. The audience were chuckling and guffawing their way through crass sexual innuendos, terrible film noir dialogue and absolutely killer lines about the struggles of driving on the M6.  

At times the jokes didn’t necessarily land, perhaps because the accents were unintelligible (if you’re going to base the show on Lancashire puns and references, probably best to at least nail that one accent down). Perhaps it was because some of the jokes came straight from last year’s Christmas crackers. It could also cut a few of the more obsolete characters only brought in for one priest pun gag or random punch line about Barnsley- trim it and polish the good stuff. 

Nevertheless, this production shows real promise from its dedicated cast. This show does not take itself seriously, nor does it need to. All three actors appear to be having a blast and although there isn’t some wider message to it all there simply doesn’t need to be.  It’s weird. It’s vulgar. It’s fun. 

I also want to draw attention to the talent of the technical operator Meg Goodearl. In small productions that rely on precise comic timing and inventive interpretations of staging, Goodearl nailed all the cues and enabled the wise-cracking, fast talking pace of gangster parody to play out pretty seamlessly, principally with the production’s use of multiple sound prompts, lighting effects, and costume and prop changes. Auguste Voulton’s direction worked really well with Hughie Shepherd-Cross’ droll writing. 

With just a few tweaks and changes, Gang Bang could be a massive crowd pleaser on a bigger stage. I think it would also translate to screen well, given the myriad references to mobster films and expressive facial acting from its cast, particularly Hannah Johnson who was great at chewing the admittedly sparse scenery. This is a frantic, silly show that provides absurdist escapism for an hour; it is a wonderful antidote to modern doom and gloom- you really can’t go wrong here.  They really do need to have a character called Rigor Tony, though.