The Pretend Men present a phrenetic pastiche of American 1970s TV cop shows in a cinematic, physical theatre production, squeezed into just over an hour.
The scenario is a familiar one; genuine, honest Jimmy Johnson is determined to avenge his brother’s death by taking on the bad guys with the help of a renegade cop coaxed out of retirement for one last chance at redemption. Along the way we meet parodies of world-weary Police sergeants, wise cracking barmen and assorted low life including a Mexican drug lord called Hernandez. Throw in a heathy dose of homo eroticism and it all sounds like a chance to have some fun.
The motivation for Jimmy is to become “the best damn Police Cop…ever!” Police Cops has won numerous awards and the strength of the piece relies on three young – very fit – performers who joyously throw themselves around the stage in balletic synchronized moves while retaining great control over the dialogue, pace of the action and, for want of a better word, plot.
The choreography is a delight, from the perfectly timed full speed and slow motion dance moves to the ability to throw props, including various items of discarded clothing, directly into cardboard boxes from 20 metres away. The performers bare their chests frequently and tease the audience with hints of a relationship never contemplated by Starsky and Hutch or The A team.
Tom Roe, Nathan Parkinson and Zachary Hunt work seamlessly with each other and are obviously having a whale of a time. Humour is very much to the forefront. Unfortunately, much of the humour is derivative and there are very few original gags or scenarios. The show almost feels constrained by the limits of 1970s comedy and many of the laughs rely on plain silliness rather than wit. Most of the gags feel tired and worn and are only given life by being reheated by virtue of the high-octane energy given them by the performers. The majority of the audience was in stitches, but the laughs seemed strained and the whole show had the impression that it was possibly hiding a much funnier one which a wittier script would have given. The performances certainly deserve it.
The cast are great at presenting the material freshly and are not averse to a bit of shameless corpsing at times when some free style improvisation is built-in. It’s just a shame that the improvisation isn’t particularly hilarious or revealing, and there was a chance to allow these moments to grow more organically. Some audience participation could have helped this along the way. There were no references to President elect Trump, although at times the scenes appeared to be crying out for it.
The audience was happy with the unsubtle dialogue and daft plot twists and the show triumphs by virtue of its great energy and verve. As the 45th President of the United States might well say, “it makes cheese grate again”. ★★★☆☆ Bryan Mason 11th November 2016
