Office Politics - A Car Crash of a Play
Max Falkenberg is less than impressed at Theatre 503's latest offering
Two days before I went to see Office Politics, I was hit by a car cycling home. Unfortunately… it would not be the only time I came close to death that week.
In my time writing for Felix I’ve seen shows which were great, and some which were mediocre, but nothing has come close to the complete travesty of Ben Worth’s _Office Politics _at the Theatre 503 in Battersea. Maybe I’m boring – after all a hefty chunk of the audience laughed throughout, but crass, poorly stereotyped, immature rubbish just doesn’t cut it for me.
_Office Politics _is a play about… wait for it… Office Politics. Mindblowing, I know. Now, think of all the standard, boring office stereotypes you can think of; the whiny jealous woman; the coke fuelled banker; the slightly less attractive, less coke fuelled, less successful banker; the posh private school boy whose ‘daddy’ got him an internship; the ‘chav’ who’s gotten the same internship; and the slightly ditsy bimbo who’s sleeping with her boss. Now put them all together with dialogue written by a hyperactive fourteen year old, and the result? You guessed it, Ben Worth’s Office Politics.
None of the stories were funny enough to justify the abysmal story line
Ok, I admit, it hasn’t exactly been a glowing start to this review, but there really were very few redeeming features. The show is made up of three twenty minute plays which stand-alone and link with the office theme. Although the theme is clear, the three plays display little story. Rather, the plays form stories about the characters interaction with colleagues. In principle, this is not a bad thing, giving the play an opportunity to play with straight and comedic characters. But instead, everyone seemed to linger in the middle. None were really funny enough to justify the abysmal story line, and equally, none were serious without seeming completely farcical.
I could go on but very little remains to be said. While the show was generally let down by its writing, none of the ensemble cast really stood out, and the staging, while suiting the venue, was an almost blank stage throughout. It is a shame considering the theme has great potential for situational comedy (Ricky Gervais’ _The Office _etc.), but on this occasion it simply wasn’t worth it.
