Writer and Lyrics: Tom Watson
Music: Sam Wells
Director: Hannah Lochhead
Two young men are flat-sharing – or at least one is staying rent-free because he’s homeless. But it doesn’t matter too much because they’re old university buddies and close friends. Then they hear that another former uni friend, a successful restaurateur, has died suddenly. After his funeral, they decide to run in a 10K event to raise funds in Jamie’s memory despite both being unexercised couch potatoes. Thus, it becomes a sparky, quite original quest story with the finishing line as the goal and, as usual in quest narratives, plenty of hiccups along the way.
The songs are the show’s greatest strength. Sung to a recorded backtrack, Tom Watson’s words – mostly but not entirely rap-type rhythms – are witty and cleverly rhymed in the way of WS Gilbert or Tom Lehrer. Included in the mix is a slickly delivered patter song and a fine example of three people singing in counterpointed rhythm, which works well. And the first main number (after an imaginative musical instruction to turn off mobile phones) is about texting in preference to calling. It builds up like a Stomp piece, and it’s good fun.
Watson himself is strong as Charlie, the lodger and he and Nicholas Southcott, as the quasi-landlord, are a pleasing duo. It’s a physical, energetic show, and the choreography is imaginative, given the limitations of the Jack Studio’s very small space.
It’s also pretty funny in places. Chloe Way does several brilliant cameos. She finds exactly the right ludicrous piety in the clergy-person spouting platitudes at Jamie’s funeral, and her hilarious turn as the slimiest drug dealer on the planet is unforgettable. She moves like quicksilver, too.
George Deller, whose body and face seem to be made of rubber, pleases as the absurdly over-the-top personal trainer at the gym, which Charlie and Nick reluctantly join. And Scarlett Irish shows plenty of versatility as Jamie’s bereaved sister, Megan and in lively ensemble roles.
Generally speaking, it’s an enjoyable show worth catching. As in any good comedy, there’s an underlying strand of something more serious to add depth – grief and friendship in this case. On the other hand, it includes quite a lot of video footage (designed by Watson) showing running in the park, drinking in the pub and so on, with a lot of face pulling to the camera. This smacks of low-budget theatre and adds very little.
Runs until 13 June 2026
