Writer:
Tim Crouch
Directors:
Karl James & A Smith
Reviewer:
Ciara Murphy
Reviewed for: The Public Reviews
[Rating:4.5]
Tim
Crouch’s one-man show takes to the Peacock stage with a bang and blurs the
lines between comedy and cruelty. Directed by Karl James and A Smith, and told
from the perspective of Countess Olivia’s butler; Malvolio (Tim Crouch), I Malvolio brings a new vibrancy and
humour to Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night.
The
pedantic Malvolio takes to stage in his grubby underwear and with an axe to grind.
Within minutes Crouch has the audience hanging on his every word as he peers,
dour and sceptical, into the theatre. He tells the audience to sit up straight,
not to move, and everyone does so with dutiful ease and a certain apprehension.
The
breaking of the fourth wall proves popular with the young audience and Crouch’s
titillating and riotous dialogue has everyone in stitches. There is a slapstick
element to the comedy as Malvolio is kicked in the backside, laughed at and
almost hanged by the more than willing children in the audience. This dark
comedy is a brave move for children’s theatre but Crouch respects his young
audience and entertains everyone with a courageous mix of child-friendly jokes
coated with a distinctly adult veneer.
Crouch’s
portrayal of Malvolio dances a thin line between the pompous, wretched servant
and the betrayed victim of a cruel and heartless prank. This is a task that
Crouch pulls of with ease, his proclamations of “I’m not mad” hit home as he
tries to order the chaos of his world. Malvolio races through the plot,
illuminating the weathered tale with a fresh and hilarious perspective on a
comedy that he declares “no one finds funny anymore”.
Despite
the comedic frame, at times the play can become dark as Crouch asks the
audience; “Is this what you like? Is this what you find funny?” As the ripples
of laughter die away at this societal indictment and the lights remain up, we
are left asking ourselves, “Do we?”
Runs
until: 23rd March
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