Writer: David Quinn
Director: Andy Crook
Anyone familiar with Jonathan Swift’s satirical short ‘A Modest Proposal’ may wonder what could be gained from a modern take on it, especially if the twist will no longer be a twist for them. However, David Quinn has hit on something extremely funny here by reimagining the old pamphlet proposal into something most of us are familiar with – the almost Ted Talk style PowerPoint presentation pitch, and Jed Murray is a perfect fit for the role of Johnathon ‘call me Johnny’ of JMCD Solutions.
Tonally there is a great range to this one-hour one-hander; Murray begins with an oily ode to the board (played by the audience) and his timing and facial expressions parody a man the audience seems to have all met before, drawing the first laughs early on, but there are regular swings into seriousness as Murray outlines some very real and very grim statistics about child poverty in Ireland. It’s an impressive push and pull from both actor and writer here, that keeps the audience somewhat on their toes, and really adds a good depth to what could have been a one note performance.
The use of the PowerPoint presentation is a genius move, it amplifies the parody powerfully and when the timing of the slides is in perfect sync with Murray’s speech the jokes are hit twice as hard. Murray prowls around for the hour, making great use of the stage and the limited props, leaning himself nonchalantly on the high stool as he tells the audience a little story to illustrate his point, or taking a moment to sooth his throat with a glass of water. Toni Bailey has him well kitted out in the turtleneck and trainers of the blue-sky businessman and even the red carpet on the floor lends an air of reality to the scene. Andy Crook’s direction is strong as ever.
To avoid spoiling the twist for anyone how hasn’t read Swift, let’s move away from the details but focus on the delivery – Murray presents the unconventional solution to Ireland’s child poverty crisis with exactly the marketing forward focus that you’d expect from a solutions consultant, and he elicits both shocked gasps and roars of laughter from the crowd, it’s a great success. The atmosphere is just as you’d hope it would be, with the audience enjoying the outrageousness and at the same time struggling with that enjoyment, with this all peaking wonderfully in the final moments of the play. In terms of critique there are a few moments spent reiterating the same points that feel a smidge superfluous, and Murray could let some of the jokes breathe a little more, but overall this is a truly great hour in the New Theatre – highly recommended.
Runs Until 2nd March 2024.
The Review's Hub Score
Fantastic Fresh Take
