_______ is a fan of classic films and got all excited about the prospect of ‘Cool Hand Luke‘ on the stage. I wasn’t overly convinced but dinner & theatre is always a draw for a city girl on a budget. Plus I rather fancy Marc Warren, so what the hell, a quick bite at Opera Tavern and down to the Aldwych it was.
The stalls were only about three quarters full, apparently the mediocre reviews had taken their toll. The crowd that was there however, were quite a cross-section. Younger than your average theatre audience, with a few families (which slightly concerned me considering some of the content of the play).
One directorial decision I can totally get behind is getting Marc Warren shirtless a few times.
As the lights went down and a group of sweaty men came onto the set as gospel songs were sung, all seemed to be going well. Even better when they took off their tops (don’t get too excited, these are not the physiques of athletes). Edward Lipscomb has produced a good looking set which (apart from one major malfunction that caused the play to be stopped in the first act) works beautifully. The war flash-back at the end of the first act is especially well produced.
The famous egg eating scene is also very well performed. I found myself trying to catch them in some slight of hand (and there seemed to be some room to believe Marc Warren was not actually eating all the eggs, but I can’t be convinced). In any event the scene provided laughs and genuinely original stage moment.
That however is where the praise stops. It’s not as if ‘Cool Hand Luke‘ is a bad piece of theatre, it is merely average. The story doesn’t translate to the stage well, the script is unremarkable and Marc Warren doesn’t deliver the level of ‘cool’ charm that the role requires. The remaining cast all work with the material they are given, but can only do so much.
The vandalism scene that sets the play in motion is underwhelming, which undercuts much of the rest of the play. The other odd choice is the gospel music. While not bad in itself, the decision to have it cover almost every scene change feels clumsy and eventually a bit grating.
One directorial decision I can totally get behind is getting Marc Warren shirtless a few times.
I think many of the reviews of the show have been somewhat unnecessarily harsh. I found ‘Cool Hand Luke‘ to be unremarkable, but I think that of so many shows that are successes on the West End. I think this kind of inoffensive, popular film adaptation can find an audience (it works for musicals after all). There are clearly people who may never set foot in the Old Vic or the National, but who enjoy theatre as entertainment if not art, and this kind of show is a perfect bridge. Not everyone is a theatre slut like me (and I’m assuming you dear reader).
Rating: Like a date with an accountant. Unremarkable but hardly awful.
The Theatre Slut 
Posted on October 9, 2011
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