Gwyneth Goes Skiing
The Pleasence Theatre • 30th Jan - 16th Feb
Awkward Productions return to The Pleasence Theatre having previously had a five-star success at the same London venue with their 2022 self-penned and highly original production, ‘Diana - The Untold and Untrue Story’, an unforgettably hilarious and irreverent look at the great British institution of the monarchy. My own review had ended with the hope that we might see Awkward’s dynamic duo of Linus Karp and Joseph Martin have a crack at another great British institution, the pantomime… and with their latest production, Gwyneth Goes Skiing, we almost get it! All the elements are there, the snow-covered setting, a talking deer, some cute little woodland creatures, a few fabulous song and dance numbers, audience participation, high camp revelry and a couple of larger-than-life central characters… one of who, if you haven’t guessed already, just happens to be Hollywood ‘royalty’ Gwyneth Paltrow (played by Linus Karp).
Having already won acclaim, and successfully avoided any hint of a ‘cease and desist’ order from Andrew Lloyd Weber, for 2020’s ‘How To Live A Jellicle Life’, (or from the Royal family for the afore mentioned ‘Diana’), the pair do find themselves in court (albeit on stage) for this telling of the bizarre events that led to the 2023 trial between the consciously uncoupled Paltrow and retired optometrist Terry Sanderson (Joseph Martin), a bizarre set of events that gets put under the equally bizarre Awkward Productions microscope.
Karp and Martin once again illustrate just how deft they are at tapping into the cultural zeitgeist of our times, given that celebrity court cases have provided some of the ‘must see’ reality TV over the last few years, with some high-profile cases having quickly become the subject for many a watercooler conversation… at least for those of us that had finally ventured back into the office post-covid. Who could forget 2022’s ‘Wagatha Christie’ libel case, (itself having been turned into a Channel Four drama), or the equally surreal gift that was the Depp vs Heard court case of the same year, (the dramatic retelling of which was a decidedly less compulsive watch than the live stream that was broadcast direct from the courtroom), and with almost 30 Million people watching the legal proceedings of Sanderson Vs Paltrow across YouTube and social media in 2023, Gwyneth Goes Skiing feels, if anything, almost overdue.
There’s plenty for Karp and Martin to take aim at as they tell the tale of the 2016 skiing accident and the court case that followed 7 years later which, even at the time, provided a litany of memorable quotes when both parties claims and counterclaims were eventually heard. Even before the court case, Paltrow had skated a fine line between new-age guru and a self-inflicted figure of ridicule since the launch of her lifestyle brand, Goop, which saw her release a $66 jade egg, (no prizes for guessing where that was designed to go!) and a ‘This Smells Like My Vagina’ candle! (The list goes on!)
Under the circumstances, it's a show that could pretty much write itself, (and indeed, there are chunks where it has done just that), but this provides the first of several challenges Karp and Martin face with this production. Could their script add enough to the telling of this already bizarre event to elevate it beyond the lampoon it had already successfully become at the time, and if they could, would Karp’s transformation into Paltrow feel sufficiently different from his recent outing as Lady Diana to prevent the whole affair feeling like a repeat of his previous performance. Asking such questions is probably already taking things a bit to seriously, but thankfully the answer to both questions is, for the most part, “Yes”, Gwyneth Goes Skiing definitely succeeds in finding its own identity. Certainly, there are times where Karps’ Paltrow drifts into Diana territory, and in the lengthy court case scene that constitutes the whole of the second half, there’s no hiding the fact that a lot of what’s being said has been lifted verbatim. In fact, Karp and Martin will occasionally break the fourth wall to tell you so, just to hammer home the absurdity of the moment.
Gwyneth Goes Skiing certainly seems to mark a creative turning point for Awkward Productions. This show has a much more clearly defined narrative structure than their previous productions due to this being based around a real-life event, but thankfully they never get to so bogged down in the facts that their more original and irreverent approach to theatre making is diminished. There’s also the addition of some brilliant and undeniably catchy songs written specifically for the show by Golden Globe nominated singer / songwriter Leland, (who has previously worked with Ru Paul, Troye Sivan, Selena Gomez to name but a few). Whilst these definitely lift this production to new unexpected heights, the decision Karp and Martin make to lip-sync their way through these numbers sits somewhat at odds with the rest of the show.
An extra song has been added for this, their second run of the show, and I personally could have taken even more, easily imagining the whole show could be further developed to lean a lot more into becoming an unapologetic fully-fledged musical. Whilst all the above definitely helps create this hilarious new chapter for Awkward Productions, the final secret weapon we got to see unleashed here was actually Joseph Martin’s performance itself. He had previously stepped out of the shadows, from his more producer-orientated role, for a bit of stage time supporting Karp during ‘Diana, The Untold and Untrue Story’, but ‘Gwyneth Goes Skiing’ is a proper two-hander, and his superb portrayal of Terry Sanderson definitely takes the character far beyond the simple one-dimensional caricature he could so easily have become. (He is also a real treat to watch when operating Sanderson’s ‘muppet’ lawyer… er…literally… she’s a muppet!), and both actors show some very adept improv skills when turning the occasional unplanned moment to their hilarious advantage, all without missing a beat!
Of course, there are certain things an audience has now come to expect from an Awkward Production, like the reprise of their popular ‘name generator’ that, shown on video screens as the audience take to their seats, brings the laughter to the room even before the show starts, (this time fittingly adapted to be a ‘Celebrity Lawsuit Name Generator’). There are also personalised printed M&M’s and snowballs a-plenty on the tables where the audience sit, the inclusion of which really help everyone feel involved and a part of the show beyond the few specifically chosen for some good-hearted audience participation.
Whilst it remains questionable whether the material is quite able to sustain the shows ambitious 105 minute runtime, (a little judicious script editing wouldn’t have gone amiss), Gwyneth Goes Skiing is a hilarious take on an absurd moment in time, all wrapped up in Awkward Productions wonderfully unique, queer and, most importantly, ‘goopy’ sensibility.
★★★★
review: Simon J. Webb
photography: Jonny Ruff