It’s opening night and someone from Radio 4 is in. However, the actors have quit last minute and his extravagant set is scattered and burning across the M4. Jim has put the last of his money into this show and with his old contacts ignoring his calls, or dead, this is his last chance.
Previously performed at the Camden Fringe this is a great show for me to return to the The Queen’s Theatre after lock-down. Despite the distance caused by the current situation it still works and we still feel close and connected to the character.
It was a night of laughter, with Jim alone on stage trying to bring us his 6 hour performance, cut down into about 60mins. Jim certainly appears desperate but determined on stage showing his opinion that The Show Must Go On and doing whatever he can to stop us asking for a ticket refund
Jim Clapp is certainly not letting the show die without his actors and I’m warning you now that you may need to practice your acting as instead he draws random people from the audience. Sure enough, this is a huge part of the show and amazingly the show manages to draw a lot of laughter out of simply watching an audience member on stage. It was surprising how the show encouraged people to take part and you might find you’re not as shy as you first thought, as you are asked to act as a cow and go ‘moo’
Although only 2 audience participants are asked to come to the stage there are large moments where further audience participation is requested and this included simple group actions such as clapping hands or even humming.
Overall this is fun for the whole audience, but I really would have loved to see more audience members on stage.
Sadly Jim Clapp only appeared at The Queen’s Theatre for one night, but the show is now on tour
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