“Comedy is, to my mind,” wrote John Mortimer, “the only thing worth writing in this despairing age, providing it is comedy which is truly on the side of the lonely, the neglected and unsuccessful.”
Mortimer’s play The Dock Brief takes place in a prison cell. Certainly the confined space within the darkened Studio Theatre lent the proceedings a perfect intimacy in which to witness the two ‘losers’ in this piece. For one man his life hangs in the balance, the other his pride.
Under Michael Hasted’s direction Mark Hyde plays Morganhall the aging ‘hack’ barrister seeking career affirmation by defending the seemingly impossible case that is Fowle, played by Alan Digweed – an extraordinary and unlikely double-act not unlike Laurel and Hardy which I strongly recommend you savour.
Better known as Tweedy the vaudeville clown, Digweed has circus talents that wouldn’t look out of place on an Olympic athlete’s CV. In this, his first ‘straight’ acting role, his well-honed clowning body language offers up a preposterous but utterly watchable interpretation of a man accused of murdering his wife. All angles and extreme expression, we were in the presence of part man, part daddy longlegs. It took a while for the audience to adjust to him, but once the giggling began there was no going back. What fun!
I loved Hyde’s Morganhall. He looked and sounded perfect for the role, both in his outbursts of self-deluded oratory and in his crumpled admissions of shortcomings. Mortimer had obviously found great amusement from manipulating Morganhall’s wounded pride to highjack the importance of Fowle’s predicament.
The play is split into two halves – before and then after the trial. In the first half Morganhall encourages Fowle to play-act with him the possible outcomes of the impending ordeal, indulging himself with imaginary triumphs during these cell-bound fantasies. This is Digweed’s big opportunity to show off his ‘Ministry of Silly Walks’ routines, followed by going beautifully OTT as a gerning Judge Banter, mincing across the stage as a camp version of potential suspect and as Bateson the lodger (many more giggles). The two protagonists play off each other well, with timing and empathy gained, one suspects, in previous pantomime frolics together at this theatre.
Mortimer doesn’t let us down with his ‘rabbit out of the hat’ ending, but not before some inner pathos is released by the hapless Morganhall, who it seems has blown his big chances in love and court by being either “just too tired” from his studies or too deeply buried in crossword puzzles and preferring just to sink his head into the comforts of a pillow rather than seize his moment.
Producer and Director Michael Hasted has injected this 1950s revival with great pace and movement on a small rostrum stage. Definitely worth a ringside seat. ★★★★☆ Simon Bishop 15/10/14
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