Review: HE SAID/SHE SAID – The White Bear Theatre

Would 2 hours of one-handed shows test the spirits of even the most ardent of theatre-goers? Although a double bill can seem a little indulgent, I felt hopeful as I entered the 50-seat space at the White Bear in sunny Kennington. Tubthumping by Chumbawamba was playing, and London had finally emerged from a long winter. Stuff the growing to-do list! Even the most mediocre of blockbusters runs to well over 2 hours these days. As it turned out, my expectations were more than exceeded. So writes Calum Skuodas for theQR.co.uk…

Gwithian Evans Shines in Dom Riley’s ‘Misconduct’

First up was Misconduct, a searing one-man show about male friendships. It’s told from the perspective of Richie, who is trying to reconnect with his best friend Mikey using that universal language of men who have known each other their whole lives but still don’t know what to say – football.

**Gwithian Evans as Richie in Misconduct by Dom Riley in He Said She Said Image Yuchu Zhao**

Gwithian Evans is superb in this role. His performance is bright, expressive and full of relentless energy. He gets plenty of laughs from the audience with his sharp delivery, and modulates his voice brilliantly when imitating the world around him. Most striking was Evans’ boisterous energy, which is infectious – all in all, an incredibly talented performance.

Gwithian Evans is superb in this role. His performance is bright, expressive and full of relentless energy.

Dom Riley’s writing is creative and current; the show should be added to a growing list of productions that deftly deal with what it means to be a modern man. I was reminded throughout of Alex Hill’s Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England – the plots share many similarities, and the writing in this case is just as good. The whole performance is tied together by a Prodigy-esque backing track that keeps the show rolling and the energy high.

‘Lady Killer’: A Visceral Study of a Murderous Maid

This was a hard performance to follow, and I drank my interval pint with some trepidation about whether the second half would keep a similarly high standard.

Fortunately for the audience, we were in a safe pair of hands for Lady Killer. Geebs Marie Williams plays a murderous maid, who comes screaming onto the stage, streaked with fresh blood and does not let up from there. The show is more visceral and far darker than its previous offering, including a 10-minute rant (or is it actually a sermon?) on the different types of serial killers.

Williams goes at a hundred miles a minute from the outset, seeming to bounce off her fellow performer’s energy. She is hard to watch in that way that is so gripping at times, giving a breathless and wild performance. I was especially taken by how she confronts her audience as she moves around the stage – it adds a terrifying edge to the show.

**Geebs Marie Williams as Her in Ladykiller by Madeline Gould in He Said She Said Image Yuch Zhao**

Written by Madeline Gould, this is another triumphant script and clearly came from somewhere deep inside the writer. Gould reveals the character’s madness bit by bit, keeping the audience hooked as they delve deeper into her disturbed mind, in the end forming a fascinating study of a psychopath.

Written by Madeline Gould, this is another triumphant script and clearly came from somewhere deep inside the writer. Gould reveals the character’s madness bit by bit, keeping the audience hooked…

One apparent flaw, however, is that the audience is not quite sure who the performer is addressing. In Misconduct, we are obviously privy to some kind of police interrogation from the outset, whereas Lady Killer is behind closed doors. It means the audience is less immersed as they may ask themselves – as I did — why are we watching this mad rant, brilliant as it is?

The final congratulations should absolutely go to director and producer Claire Evans. She resurrected both plays after years of lying dormant – and has chosen two brilliant scripts and two superb actors to go with them. It shows impeccable taste combined with an innate understanding of theatre, and it is therefore no surprise that the show is an absolute triumph. She should be highly lauded for her efforts in putting on such a brilliant double bill – you’d be a fool to miss this one.

Featured Image: R: Geebs Marie Williams as Her in Ladykiller by Madeline Gould in He Said She Said Image Yuch Zhao, L: Gwithian Evans as Richie in Misconduct by Dom Riley in He Said She Said Image Yuchu Zhao