20 – 23 November
Welcome to the Goop-filled world of Gwyneth Paltrow and her ski-crash nemesis, Optician…I mean Optometrist…the smarmy Terry Sanderson.
Gwyneth Goes Skiing tells the story behind Paltrow and Sanderson’s infamous collision that led to a Utah show trial, sparking a media sensation across the world. Sanderson claimed he’d suffered four broken ribs and permanent brain injuries, Paltrow lost “Half a day of skiing”. This show delivers a parody on the ridiculous extremes of celebrity and the American ‘God given’ right to sue just about whoever the hell you want.
With a backing cast of puppet animals, fruit, and willing (and sometimes slightly unwilling) audience participation, Awkward Productions’ two-player cast immerses us in that fateful day on the Utah slopes before gliding us into the unforgettable trial.
From the beginning, we’re assured by the dulcet tones of a backstage Gwyneth that we’ll be very much “part of the show” and it wasn’t a threat. Sure enough, minutes later the cast was joined by a bashful audience member playing the part of Famous Producer Brad Falchek. It brought another layer of hilarity to this anarchic comedy and ensures every performance will be entirely unique.
Linus Karp steals the show as a genteel Gwyneth Paltrow, portraying her as the self-promoting, self-confessed nepo-baby we’ve loved to hate since she had that “British phase” in the late 90s. I found myself utterly incapable of taking my eyes off Karp, as he wafted around the stage promoting Goop gift bags and dropping such unforgettable lines as: “I’ve had Gwynough”.
Against Karp’s mesmerising performance, Joseph Martin who stars as Terry Sanderson, and the voice of his unruly Mormon lawyer, had a tough job – but his relentless energy and skill in puppetry took the post-interval audience into a new state of hysteria.
And not to be overlooked, the grumpy Assistant Stage Manager became a character in herself, reluctantly tidying away squirrel puppets, unenthusiastically wheeling out a fan to spray snow at Gwyneth. Juxtaposed with Gwyneth’s toxic positivity, it brought a new layer of hilarity. Everyone in Gwyneth Goes Skiing plays their part and commits to it entirely.
Both Karp and Martin, who co-wrote the show, know their audience (Gwyneth constantly refers to the girls and the gays in her addresses in court). The nods to Brat, Sliding Doors…even a Ned Flanders meme reference made this is a Millennial viewers’ Goop dream of a production.
But the shows humour went deeper than cultural references. It brought a fringe feeling performance to a bigger stage, using a huge variety of interaction that felt like highly choreographed chaos.
Characters are entirely unlikable in an entirely loveable way. However, asked at the end to vote for who we believed should win the case, it came as no surprise that Gwyneth came out on top.
On a drab mid-November night, this spectacular comedy will bring you more warmth than a bone broth.
★★★★★ Beth Teverson, 21 November 2024
Photo credit: Jonny Ruff
