Exhibitionists

Kings Head Theatre • 5th Jan - 10th Feb

Neither the proposed tube strikes, (thankfully cancelled at the eleventh hour), or the plummeting winter temperatures were enough to keep the opening night audience away from what was not only to be The Kings Head Theatre’s first production of 2024, but also the first play to be staged in its brand new, purpose built venue. Located just around the corner from its original site at the back of the Kings Head pub in Islington, (a space it had occupied since opening in 1970, making it London’s oldest pub theatre), this new venue is a very different prospect. It’s somewhat cold, corporate-like labyrinth of corridors take the audience down several floors to the basement location of its new 200 seat auditorium, the thrust stage of the old venue now replaced by a more traditional end stage. There was clearly an effort to tone-down the office-like atmosphere with a good use of lighting in the bar areas and on the stair-wells, and I’m sure over time the venue will become more familiar and feel more welcoming. It was still enough to generate a palpable buzz of excitement from the invited press night audience however, most of who will have sat through countless productions at the theatre’s previous location.

With the curiosity about the new venue having been satisfied, attention soon turned to the Kings Head’s inaugural production, the world premiere of Exhibitionists, a new comedy written by Shaun McKenna and Andrew Van Sickle. The programme notes gave a tantalising insight into what to expect, given both writers are fans of Howard Hawks’ wise-cracking screwball film comedies of the 1930’s and 1940’s, citing Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday as reference points, and like the odd couples often found at the heart of those films, and indeed in this play, the playwrights themselves would also seem to match this description given that one is already an experienced Olivier nominee (McKenna) whilst the other is the editor of British weekly investment magazine Moneyweek, (Van Sickle), here seen making his playwriting debut. Surely there must be a script in how these two actually got together to write this play? That aside, given the quality of the source material both were quoting as the inspiration behind Exhibitionists, my expectations were high.

The set seemed deceptively simple upon first viewing, a jagged structure of plain white walls stretched across the venues surprisingly wide stage, but it soon comes to life when, as the play starts, a video-art installation is projected upon its surfaces, transporting the audience to the private gallery view for an artist’s new installation. Lending their support on its opening night, (not unlike most of the audience), are couple Conor (Ashley D Gayle) and Mal (Jake Mitchell-Jones), who, along with a second couple, Robbie and Rayyan, find themselves circling each other through the different rooms of the gallery, (the transitions are wonderfully realised by Matt Powell’s video design). Each remain unaware of the others presence, but through their separate conversations it soon becomes clear that Conor and Robbie had once been an item, (putting the ‘Ex’ in Exhibitionists). Now, in the closest proximity they have been to each other in years, and with their new partners in tow, it is only a matter of time before both couples come together in a collision that will cause their emotional baggage to explode everywhere. So far so promising.

Unfortunately, as the pace and energy of the play builds up to the inevitable confrontation, and subsequent fall out thereafter, so Bronagh Lagan’s direction seems to slip away from her and the plays original American screwball intentions quickly become more recognisable in the tradition of a much more basic British farce. To be fair, with so many doors built into the set design, through which an endless number of entrances and exits are made, this now seems almost inevitable, but such frantic execution of the plays more ‘physical’ elements sadly all become a bit ‘one note’ and end up lacking any sense of the control that would have helped justify this 90-minute run time. Thankfully the script had enough sharp one-liners to go some way in salvaging this more ‘broad strokes’ approach that ultimately seemed to leave the audience more exhausted than entertained, which is a shame given that some of my favourite one-liners could be found closer to the end.

The four characters are joined by a fifth, a hotel owner named Sebastian, (Oystein Lode), (the change from gallery to hotel is a nice transition from Set Designer Gregor Donnelly) and whilst Lode manages a more considered and laconic performance, it unfortunately still doesn’t save it from ultimately feeling just as much of a ‘caricature’ as the others, all of which eventually robs the audience of the opportunity to develop any real empathetic feelings towards any of the characters and the predicament they find themselves in. Jake Mitchell-Jones comes closest to giving his character some emotional development, but I’m sorry to say that once you’ve left the theatre, you’re more likely to be thinking about what’s for dinner than musing over this amusing but ultimately misdirected play. Whilst Exhibitionists is certainly not without its more enjoyable moments, its relentless frenetic energy is unfortunately not enough to sustain the duration of the play alone.

★★★

review: Simon J. Webb