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Monkey Island - Hen & Chickens

Monkey Island - the first in a trilogy of Frank & Pete adventures found it's second legs with a repeat performace at the Hen & Chickens following sold out dates at the Canal Café Theatre the previous year!

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Monkey Island
Written and Directed by Tom Webb

Now playing at the Hen & Chickens Theatre at 9.30pm until 24th September

If you want to start a monkey farm, where would you go to find rare monkeys? Monkey Island of course. Frank (Jez Worsnip) and Pete (Tom Webb) are two friends who one day decide that it would be a good idea to start a monkey farm, to breed monkeys to do all sorts of odd jobs. Looking in the atlas they find Monkey Island (almost obscured by a staple) and set off in their dinghy. Their journey is full of adventure and when they arrive on the island they meet the beautiful Princess Sweetcakes (Yasmin Kerr), who is to be sacrificed to the Cyclops the following morning unless she is married. But she can only be married to someone who completes the four tests (gaining the four magical items) and defeats the Cyclops. Frank has fallen in love with the Princess and so he agrees to undertake the quest.

Tom Webb's script is hilarious and very silly. He successfully creates a believable relationship between two silly friends who could one day decide to start a monkey farm (complete with T-Shirts). This comic parody of the fantastical quest has all the ingredients of the journey found in countless fantasy novels, but makes its heroes normal blokes who can't quite believe what they are doing. The tests that Frank has to undertake are ludicrous, (and may or may not be passed) such as playing Jason at Jenga, a complete set of which has miraculously washed up onshore from Pete and Frank's dinghy.

All four of the actors are excellent. Jez Worsnip and Tom Webb make a great double act; they compliment each other well, and look physically funny when on stage together.
There is also a fantastic performance from Max Webb who plays a variety of roles including Jason (minus his Argonauts) and the ugliest mermaid alive who just needs a kiss to become the most beautiful creature ever. He has great presence on stage and all his characters are very distinct and very funny. Yasmin Kerr is also superb as Princess Sweetcakes and also the witch and genie that test Frank.

The staging of this show is very simple. Using a black box set the actors create the island with a variety of comic characters. Pete and Frank are very engaging and endearing, so the audience follows them on their bid to defeat the Cyclops in order to become Kings so they can start up a monkey farm with all the monkeys on the island.

It is a very entertaining and silly play that doesn't take itself seriously (the final confrontation with the Cyclops is hysterical). It may possibly be too silly for some, but if you like fantasy quests and lots of laugh out load, choking on your beer jokes and dreadful puns then this may be for you.

Running time is approximately 1 hour

Reviewed by Julia Stephenson for Theatreworld Internet Magazine

posted by Lee Thomas @ 12:27 AM