Theatrevoice - Let's talk about theatre

Site Map

Dumb Show

  • opened: 9/7/2004
  • closed: 10/16/2004
  • Royal Court Downstairs
  • Box Office: 020 7565 5100
  • Details: To 16 Oct 2004
  • Summary: Visit theARCHIVE to hear a discussion. Acutely observed, often painfully funny hatchet-job on tabloid journalism by Joe Penhall. Douglas Hodge is unforgettably good as the stitched-up TV celebrity 'Barry', beset by two devilishly devious hacks. Visit theARCHIVE to hear a discussion. Joe Penhall, a former newspaper reporter subsequently turned award-winning playwright, trains his sites on the moral bankruptcy of tabloid journalism in this ferocious three-hander. Douglas Hodge plays Barry, a TV entertainer who's the victim of a classic tabloid sting, his professional decline and personal turmoil rapidly accelerated by the machinations of two hacks (Anna Maxwell Martin and Rupert Graves) posing as bankers with an offer he can't refuse. Widespread acclaim for the performances and production hasn't extended completely to the play itself, several critics worrying that Penhall's satire is unfairly loaded against the villains of the piece. In the Daily Telegraph, Charles Spencer cheered the loudest, squirming with embarrassed recognition, and applauding a 'theatrical scoop': 'Penhall displays a dramatic vigour in dumb show that often put me in mind of a modern-day version of Ben Jonson's great scam-fest, The Alchemist. And like Jonson, he viciously flays the vices of the age.' He added: 'Terry Johnson directs a scorching production of a play in which the twists keep on coming until the very last line, while Douglas Hodge gives the performance of his career as the besieged Barry.' Michael Billington in the Guardian gave a grudging three stars: 'Having exposed the sting, Penhall settles largely for point-making. Some of his points are perfectly valid: that tabloid journalists cloak themselves in moral indignation, that they get an adrenaline-rush from impersonation and that they are part of a corrupt culture in which celebrities are first elevated then destroyed. I don't feel disposed to argue with this: I just wished, for the sake of drama, someone else would.' Paul Taylor in the Independent also mused about 'niggling implausibilities' but, while asserting that the new play lacked the trenchancy of Blue/Orange, went on 'Penhall deftly skewers the outrageous piety and hypocrisy of trial by entrapment.' In the Times, Benedict Nightingale awarded four stars: 'Penhall brings the same sharpness and wit to Dumb Show that he did to his hugely successful Blue/Orange four years ago, but at times he pushes his satire a step too far. As a result, Dumb Show isn't quite what Penhall may have wanted it to be, a serious and highly topical discussion about the extent to which public people have a right to privacy. He scores some undeniable hits - 'If Jesus Christ were alive today you'd be going through his bins'- and he comes up with a nice, if predictable, ending. But outrage somewhat unbalances his play, though not, let me add, Terry Johnson's cast.' In the Evening Standard, Nicholas de Jongh found Penhall's 'narrative twists and turns - sentimental, unconvincing and contrived' - but acknowledged the 'laughter that Penhall inspires in this trenchantly acted comedy of cruelty, deceit and exploitation, with Douglas Hodge, Rupert Graves and Anna Maxwell Martin giving uncomfortably real performances.' In the Mail on Sunday, Georgina Brown enthused: 'Penhall hits the bull's-eye of the his targets time after time, and director Terry Johnson draws superbly judged performances from Rupert Graves, so shallow he's evaporating, a chillingly conscienceless Anna Maxwell Martin and, best of all, Douglas Hodge, funny and moving as the drunk comedian whose greed gets the better of him.' In the Sunday Telegraph, John Gross approved: 'As it is, Dumb Show doesn't teach us anything very significant that we didn't know already. But we go to the theatre for experiences rather than lessons, and it is a thoroughly gripping play.' In the Sunday Express, Mark Shenton doled out four stars, concluding: 'The result is as morbidly fascinating as it is chastening. Penhall, whose play, Blue/Orange about mental illness, scooped numerous awards four years ago, has written another intricately constructed thriller about a different kind of madness - the pressures of fame and those who make a living off the back of it.' In the Sunday Independent, Kate Bassett pronounced it enthralling: 'This piece gets off to a slow start and could, if insensitively directed, be reduced to a shallow tragi-comic thriller about celebrity culture and snooping hacks. However, Terry Johnson's superb cast steer an unnervingly fine line between the naturalistic and the nightmarish and ultimately, this is deeply unsettling...' In the Sunday Times, Victoria Segal thought 'Penhgall's outrage at tabloids veers worringly close to the pious disgust these stories encourage in their readers.' While praising the 'deceptively nuanced performances and the abundance of good jokes', she argued: 'By merely being satisfied to show the mechanics of corruption, Penhall's front-page style is thrown away on a two-page play.' Visit theARCHIVE to hear a theatrevoice discussion.
  • Author: Joe Penhall
  • Director: Terry Johnson
  • Composer: sound designer: Ian Dickinson
  • Lyricist: Set Designer: Es Devlin
  • Lighting Designer: Bruno Poet
  • Costume Designer: Iona Kenrick
  • Choreographer:
  • Cast Details: Douglas Hodge (Barry); Anna Maxwell Martin (Liz); Rupert Graves (Greg)