Mixed Sex

Lion And Unicorn Theatre • 17 March - 21 March

Mixed Sex, at the Lion And Unicorn Theatre, is the hilarious debut full-length play by writer Samuel Normington, who also stars and co-directs this four person comedy about growing up different, being at odds with your environment and having your authentic self suppressed by those around you.

Set in the mid 1990’s, Ten year old Sam notices his friends are becoming increasingly fascinated by football, rugby, and the prospect of catching a glimpse of his best friend Rosie’s knickers. More content with braiding Rosie’s hair and obsessing over girl-group Eternal and Care Bears with her, it’s clear that his own interests lay very much elsewhere. Whilst hoping that by improving his dance skills he might swerve the prospect of being sent to the all-boys secondary school, preferring instead to go to the mixed sex comprehensive, he must first convince his religious parents that girls will not lead to his ‘ultimate downfall’, whilst they remain unaware that their son is actually finding himself becoming increasingly obsessed with the schools most popular pupil, Duncan Kirkland Jones.

Partly an autobiographical look at his own childhood, the first surprise is just how quickly Normington’s decision to portray his 10-year-old self becomes an endearing rather than a potentially ludicrous device, albeit given his approx. 6 foot frame and moustache! Helped by a comic performance that is full of well observed wide-eyed innocence and almost marionette-like mannerisms, this portrayal becomes a rich source of the comedy that follows, but it’s as a writer that he supports the visual oddity with a well-paced and very funny script that keeps the 90min on-act play rolling along, (the unfortunate lack of ventilation in this small pub theatre being the only reason the increasingly stifled but otherwise enthusiastic audience began to flag towards the end).

With an equally ‘adult’ supporting cast playing Sam’s school friends, the play is saved from teetering into an elongated Haribo advert by having the other three cast members also double up as the adults in Sam’s life, namely his mother (Lana-Peta Dean), Father, (Calvin Dean) brother (Lanre Danmola) and Vicar (Lana-Peta Dean once again). The constant quick changes Normington’s script requires could have easily seen proceedings unintentionally start to resemble ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’, but thankfully the supporting cast were more than adept at bouncing between characters, made all the more impressive given they actually never leave the stage throughout! Unfortunately, on the night I watched the play, the lighting technician’s cue’s weren’t quite as sharp as the performances, a problem with the tech seeming to present itself about three-quarters of the way through. Despite this, Normington’s quick wit even managed to turn this glitch into a fine piece of comedy business without missing a beat, thankfully making it all just a part of the fun. (Proving the adage that the beauty of theatre really is that no two performances will ever be exactly the same).

Whilst having adult’s playing children managed to add much in the way of comedic charm to the play, the one hurdle I found myself unable to get over was the chasm in the apparent social class between Sam’s parents. The Father, resplendent with flat cap and thick northern accent seemed at odds with his emerging Tony Blair hating, Thatcher loving, Telegraph reading, right wing persona, whilst his wife was portrayed with the sort of voice that wouldn’t have been out of place had it emanated from a minor member of the Royal Family. (think Helen Lederer as PR assistant Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous and you won’t be far wrong). Maybe it was a way for the playwright to point out to this particular audience member that no one is above applying preconceived stereotypes to people, but having whole heartedly embraced the plays age blind, and potentially colour blind casting decisions, this unlikeliest of parental pairings was bizarrely the one element I found myself having the most difficulty getting on board with.

That minor quibble aside, with this being Samuel Normington’s first full length play, he certainly shows incredible promise as a playwright. His observations are sharp, his points well made, and he makes the ability to keep his audience laughing throughout seem almost effortless. Small pub theatres like the Lion And Unicorn are such an important nurturing ground for up and coming talent, and I was reminded of my visit here way back in 2017 where I first saw the fledgling Awkward Productions’ Linus Karp and Joseph Martin. Recognising immediately that they were destined for great things, 8 years and 1 pandemic later this particularly dynamic duo are now on a global tour (currently in Canada) with their hit comedy Diana: The Untold And Untrue Story. These same talent-spotting senses were tingling once again last night, and I predict this won’t the last we hear of Samuel Normington. I will definitely be back to see whatever he conjures up next.

★★★★

Down The Road is on at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre until 21st March. Tickets available here

review: Simon J. Webb

photography: Henry T