Golden Goose Theatre
Playing until 12th October 2024
Review {AD-PR Gifted}
After a day that’s already started on a rough note with the breakdown of his marriage, things go even more downhill for Alan (Seth Jones) as he crashes his car into a dodgy campsite in the middle of nowhere. Alan soon meets his fellow campers: the eccentric owner Virgil (Mark Keegan) and irritatingly upbeat tent neighbour Justin (David Keogh), and realises he’s in for a long night.
Between tent pitching mishaps, Virgil’s wacky wardrobe, and Justin’s penchant for sleepwalking, Past Tents is full of moments that had me properly laughing out loud. The script is incredibly witty, the characters bizarre yet believable, and the well-thought-out set and props serve the humour perfectly. The whole production shows the team’s careful attention to detail.
Jones’s Alan is tightly wound, all spittle and rage, balanced by Keogh’s smiling personification of annoying optimism. Meanwhile, Keegan’s creepy yet strangely endearing Virgil is a routine scene stealer, delivering some of the most hilarious lines of the play with utter seriousness. All three actors are totally committed to these characters, bringing them to life in vivid colour and making the most of every opportunity to get a laugh out of the audience.
Past Tents is chock-a-block with gross-out humour, which lands every time without ever feeling gratuitous. This is again aided by some stupendously silly props.
As the piece goes on, the more serious themes of mental health are introduced delicately, and we see a vulnerable side to the furious Alan. This is scripted wonderfully, but a more toned-down performance of his emotions might have made these moments have an even greater impact in contrast to his maxed-out anger throughout the rest of the production.
The introduction of these more sensitive subjects gives way to a truly incredible emotional pay-off in the final scene. Without spoiling anything, I found the ending deeply affecting and so cleverly done, and I felt moved long after I left the theatre.
Past Tents is a remarkable piece of theatre full of side-splitting moments with an extremely important message at it’s core — well worth a trip to the charming Golden Goose Theatre!
Creatives
Writer: David Keogh and Seth Jones
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