Theatre

Oxford Street
Until May 31
This event has finished
Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AS
Rating:
By Jane Edwardes

Posted: Mon May 12
Playwright Levi David Addai has brought the genre of the work play up to date by choosing as his setting one of those Oxford Street sports shops that lurk just round the corner from our offices; the kind of place that attracts staff who believe they are just passing through on their way to better things. Even Emmanuel, a middle-aged ‘loss prevention’ manager, believes he has a future in business. The staff is a mix of black, Brazilian and Indian Londoners and a Pole, Alek, whose view of his colleagues is drawn from the Daily Mail. Preeya Kalidas’ Loraina claims that ‘I didn’t choose to do performing arts, performing arts chose me.’ But many of them are in danger of spending their lives selling Arsenal shirts.

As anyone who saw ‘93.2FM’ will know, Addai writes sharp, breezy dialogue. The atmosphere is heightened by Soutra Gilmour’s environmental design which sees the audience scattered among the clothes racks and tubs of footballs. The novelty of the staging – although it’s getting to the point where it would be novel to see a play performed straight here – doesn’t disguise the fact that there isn’t much of a plot. Nathaniel Martello-White’s Kofi is put on the spot by Ashley Walters’ Darrell, who expects Kofi to turn a blind eye to his stealing. The actors are terrific but Dawn Walton’s production can’t find enough power to go the whole distance.