Tickle
The Kings Head Theatre, 14th Oct - 26th Oct 2019
If I’ve learnt anything from my previous outings to see a Lambco production, it’s that I should always expect the unexpected. So far they have had their audiences toes tapping throughout a body positive musical (Boys In The Buff) witnessed a Christmas tale of love, infidelity and strained friendships descend into chaos in a flat on Staten Island, (The Crumple Zone) and whisked us off to Cuba for a fascinating look at the latter years in the life of Dame Margot Fonteyn (Margot). A diverse portfolio of productions that always has me excited when a new show is announced. Similarly to Margot, the team have once again looked to a true story as the basis of their latest production, but it couldn’t be further removed from their last as this time we are introduced to the world of competitive endurance tickling, proving once again that life can often be a whole lot stranger than fiction, as they show in this latest production, Tickle.
Tickle takes us behind the scenes of Tina Tickle’s online, pay-per-view tickling empire, where good looking young guys are paid impressive amounts of cash to be filmed tickling each other. Why, you might ask? Well from the boys perspective, the opening song (Oh yes, did I mention this is a musical as well), Drab Town, gives an indication of why these guys could be so easily lured into performing this strange activity for cash, and whilst they might, somewhat naively, be convinced that this is just a bit of innocent fun that is unlikely to have any serious repercussions, we soon find things begin to unravel for the two lads, Chris (James McDowall), and Callum, (Ben Brooker), who are freshly recruited by ruthless business woman Davina Diamond (Amy Sutton) on behalf of a somewhat disturbing Tina Tickle (Richard Watkins) who's appearance begins to reveal the dark underbelly of this online tickling empire.
For those doubting the credentials of this story, it is actually based on a 2016 documentary by David Farrier and Dylan Reeve, but from those origins Chris Burgess has written a highly original, heartfelt and entertaining musical that surpasses all expectations. Whilst this could have easily amounted to little more than an entertaining high camp confection, (especially with song titles like It’s Not Gay and What Would Julie Andrews Do?) it would have been a shame if there were not some more meat to the extraordinary bones of this original and reality based tale. Thankfully there is, due in no small part to the conviction brought by the two male leads to the roles of Chris and Callum.
It’s incredible to have learned that James McDowall and Ben Brooker are both still fresh out of drama school, with McDowall actually making his professional debut in this production. There’s nothing in either performance that gives away their lack of experience on the professional stage, and both are more than able to carry their share of the many (17) musical numbers. The two more experienced actors also bring their ‘a’ game to the roles, with Richard Watkins, who we last saw in his own musical production, Happily Ever Poofter, once again in fine flamboyant form as larger than life Tina Tickle. Impressive, imposing, and hilarious, particularly in some clearly unscripted asides... never at the expense of the character but always dangerously close to stealing every scene he appears in.
Running alongside Chris and Callum’s decline into the increasingly dark world of online tickling, is an unrequited love story of sorts, as we learn early on that Callum actually has a crush on Chris who is not only straight but also completely unaware of his close friends affections. This adds another layer to the tickling scenes as for Callum they clearly enable him the opportunity to get physically close to the object of his affections, potentially clouding his view even further as to what he is really getting involved in.
Chris Burgess’s songs fit well alongside the drama, and Richard Lamberts design, along with Robert McWhir’s assured direction combine to make the absolute best of the relatively confined space of the Kings Head Theatre. Sam Spencer-Lane even manages to create some impressive choreographed numbers that somehow seem to cheat the reality of the available space, which is also made to feel larger by some very effective lighting design. This production could possibly benefit from a bit of fine tuning in the second half, as the time required to perform so many songs in a 70 minute production did mean some of the more dramatic moments felt a little rushed and under explored, like Callum’s coming out to Chris. There is however no denying that Tickle is both an original and highly enjoyable watch! Come prepared to expect the unexpected.
★★★★
