Extract from Dailyinfo, 25th
April 2002:
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ENTERTAINING.
(ENTERTAINING MR SLOANE, Old Fire Station)
by S. T. Stiles
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To
sum up a theatre production in one word is often difficult for a reviewer
to do, but in the case of Entertaining Mr. Sloane, showing at
the Old Fire Station Theatre this week, the title says it all, and the
task of review seems simple, for a play that is, well, somewhat simple.
All the characters are introduced in the first quarter of an hour, during
which a middle-aged woman picks up a twenty-year-old boy she meets in
the local library who is looking for a place to stay and brings him
to her home, where she introduces him to her half-senile father and
covertly homosexual brother, then attempts to seduce him before he's
even had a chance to try out his own bed. Thus begins Mr. Sloane's entrance
into the family of Kath and Ed, two siblings who spend the rest of the
show competing for the boy's attentions and favour. The actors lead
the audience through a farcical tale of sexuality and family relations,
sometimes scandalous, sometimes outrageous, but always comical, filled
with obvious puns and the conspicuous humour of a playwright known for
his shock-appeal and shrewd wit.
Susan
Hitch stood out among the cast with a forceful and convincing performance
as Kath, a naive woman with her disreputable past written on her sleeve,
or more aptly put, pouring from her mouth, as she hides nothing and
divulges all-or does she? The characters' seeming simplicity should
not be taken for granted, as the second act reveals the depth of each
outrageous personality on stage, and leads to the unavoidable confusion
and thickening of plot bound to occur when so many strange people are
put under one roof. James Methven's direction was more than well done,
and the ingenious idea of placing the audience on both sides of the
stage adds to the appeal of a story that naughtily reveals a bit more
when taken from all angles - pun intended.
Other reviews: Oxford
Student | Cherwell | Oxford
Times