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Review / Lad at The Vault Festival 2020

March 8, 2020 by Paul Hegarty Leave a Comment

Review of: Lad
Produced by:
One Duck at Vault Festival 2020 London
Price:
£14 plus concessions

Reviewed by: Paul Hegarty
Rating:
4
On March 8, 2020
Last modified:July 22, 2020

Summary:

I'm in a jungle - get me out of here!

More Details

Lad written and performed by Rhys Dunlop and Alan Mahon, is clever and so contemporary, with its jokes and jibes about male identity, that you might be overhearing it in the pub. Steve, our singular homo sapiens species, is up for examination. With the word suggesting ‘wise man’ our upright biped is soon displaying signs of anxiety as the things he thinks he knows start to unravel and the terms and conditions traditionally taken up seem to be proving that he is not such a wise man after all.


Of course our biped is never alone, not without Vic, his mate – buddy, wingman or side-kick or go-to – so with all that support in place how can our man about town feel vulnerable, less alpha, more apologetic? Dunlop and Mahon capture these seemingly loutish lads and deliver physically energetic performances and unravel such things at a quick fired pace with dialogue that is snappy, witty and revealing about this pack mentality.

Steve is getting ready for his Best Man speech – no problem after all is that not what he his? If for a moment he’s unsure about that his prime mate is there to remind him to be totally cock sure of himself, after all he is alpha, he is a stag and a prime example of the species – and suddenly Steve feels good about himself again – and as Vic points out ‘ a good feeling can only be an erection’. Sorted! So food, sex, fornication, beers with the lads, endless pics of conquests and shallow conversation keeps them grounded. 

As he thinks of the groom, dog walking or wedding planning, the only response can be derision and Maids of Honour must surely be there for ‘planting the parsnip’, or ‘ramming the bishop’ – familiar exchanges – familiar fodder for his best man speech. To remain strong the lads must never take into account self reflection, remorse, doubt, guilt and most importantly, feelings. As Dunlop and Mahon’s play starts to unwind we see that such behaviours are those that will not let these primates rise up to any interesting level.

The writing in Lad is bold and the scatter-gun approach of thoughts and ideas is both fun and relentless and that starts to make the joke wear thin until we can see through the masculine mask and find a worried lost man not sure how to make the next beneficial move. The lack of honesty and emotional intelligence is searing as Steve admits to being at a loss, as he realises that women too have a voice and feelings that are like his, complex and confusing – and that is ok. Feelings are hard to navigation and they don’t just reside in your shorts. They can also shed a light on human need and behaviours, and evaluating them might bring the best out in you and your mates. Steve redeems himself with a Power Ranger anecdote in his wedding speech that makes you realise the pen is mightier that the sword and it makes him realise that Best Man is up for grabs.

All credit to Dunlop and Mahon for Lad is an important play for our times, where male identity is under scrutiny and this play might make the lads wise men and grasp their true selves – and that is good place to start.

CAST and CREW

Written and performed       Rhys Dunlop & Alan Mahon
Directed by                            Thomas Martin
Associate Director               Cathal Cleary
Lighting                                   Cillian McNamara
Sound                                      Ekaterina Solomantina
Set Design                              Martin, Dunlop & Mahon
Movement                              Bryan Burroughs
Set Builder                             Stephen Lockhart

Lad will be running at The Forge, Vault Festival, Waterloo till 8 March. For tickets and more information please visit vaultfestival.com

Author: Paul HegartyPaul is a reviewer and an experienced actor who has performed extensively in the West End (Olivier nominated) and has worked in TV, radio and a range of provincial theatres. He is also a speech, drama and communications examiner for Trinity College London, having directed productions for both students and professionals and if not busy with all that he is then a teacher of English.

Filed Under: Review Tagged With: Alan Mahon, Rhys Dunlop, The Vaults

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