Waugh: What is it good for?

It’s in theatres like the Old Red Lion, that remind me why I review plays instead of just going to the see them. They want me to like them, and they have a bar – did I mention it was a pub-theatre? It’s a simple, yet highly effective equation. Regrettably though, it seems ORL had banked on the bar doing the talking and had overlooked a key point, viz. the play itself.

Sylvester McCoy, one time Dr. Who star and generally cuddly old man, leads the way in this production of Decline and Fall. It tells of the… err… decline and fall of Paul Pennyfeather, from his expulsion from Oxford, onto his cuckolded marriage to the wealthy Margot Beste-Chetwynde and then to all that befell him thereafter. The cast is, without exception, pretty well suited to each of their respective roles, McCoy hams it up no end, whilst Mike Lindall is beaten from pillar to post so much that it seems it comes to him naturally. Emily Murphy in her multiple roles during the play is also worth a mention, especially as she intimidates the audience into filling up the few seats of the intimate venue.

For those fans of Waugh out there, I warn you may be disappointed. Soon you begin to realize why he wrote books rather than plays, and you often get a sense that this book wasn’t meant to be a play. The number of scene changes alone makes you wish you were at home with book. Whilst the intricacies of the satire are lost, nevertheless, certain elements are still preserved and the play still keeps the humour high throughout.

ORL is a brilliant theatre, beyond just the beer taps, but even Sylvester McCoy couldn’t turn around Decline & Fall. Whilst it entertains, it leaves little the audience feeling a little empty-handed, not with the acerbic pang one expects from Waugh.

Tickets from £11 until 8 January