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Big Tex Productions presents
Bubba & Luvvie
Written/Directed by Angus Strachan
Associate Producer: Neil McArthur
Creative Director Jez McCoy
King's Head Theatre
July 7 – August 8 2010
A review by James Buxton for EXTRA! EXTRA!
Bubba & Luvvie is a two hander written by Angus Strachan, playing at the intimate theatre in the back room of the King's Head Pub on Upper Street, Islington. Two mysterious characters meet each other on a cliff top, apparently as strangers; but as the play progresses, we discover these are old friends with a great deal of history. For Bubba, an ex-copper, tonight is the eve of his trial for murder and there is only one witness who can testify against him. It soon becomes clear that Luvvie, the mistress of a whore house he used to frequent, is that witness. The drama unfolds through the characters exchanging a series of anecdotes about their pasts and the warped lives they have lead, sharing stories about imaginary characters who thinly veil their own lives, which leads to the play’s unusual conclusion. Strachan's dialogue is of a poetic quality, witty and highly wrought, loaded with savage put downs and pithy epithets. Strachan manipulates the language, and phrases are turned on their heads, keeping your ears on their toes. He captures Luvvies' Liverpudlian way of speech accurately and believably; while Bubba's Northern grit balances Luvvie’s sensual speech. The script is highly inventive and charming, allowing the actors to relish their lines with considerable enjoyment. Gerard McDermott as Bubba, in sweat stained khaki coloured suit, his tie hung loosely around his neck, looks convincing as a man racked by nerves. Initially he skilfully portrays the appearance of a seemingly care free heckler however, when he drop this facade, he shows the flip side of his character as a slimy, pathetic man. At times McDermott allows Bubba's monstrous inner demons to bubble to the surface as his Northern accent drops to a low, threatening, growl. He staggers to Luvvie, his eyes burning with menace, haggard and desperate, he repeatedly appeals to her to help him commit suicide. Mia Soteriou plays Luvvie with great charm and allure, as she leads the lumbering beast that is Bubba along as if he were on a short lead. She provokes him sexually and then resists his lecherous advances as a constant game of cat and mouse is played out. Initially in blonde wig, dark sunglasses and polka dot blue dress, she looks just like an elderly femme fatale, however the wig and sunglasses are discarded when Bubba takes the game a step too far and Luvvie begins to bare her dark history. Soteriou commands the stage with dramatic flair, maintaining a theatrical self consciousness that works well in the context of the play, where the language is self consciously, and, poetically heightened. Strachan's direction is well aware of the theatrical limitations of the narrow stage at the King's Head and embraces these limitations to produce an array of imaginative and engrossing moments. When Bubba threatens to throw himself off the cliff, with a nod to King Lear, the edge of the stage becomes the cliff edge. The most enchanting aspect of the play is the way Soteriou and McDermott both mime props and act out events. In an imaginary court scene, they make pleas to an invisible judge, shouting ‘overruled’ and presenting their case to him. These combined moments of shared fantasy and mine unite to create the moment or prop in an intriguingly imaginative way. When McDermott pulls his snub nosed, service pistol from his jacket pocket, it appears in the form of his hand. Strachan's description allows us to really imagine the gun, whilst the look of shock on Soterious's face and McDermott's gleeful grin allow the foreboding sense of dread that the gun creates, to exist in the audience's mind purely through their acting and the script. These moments, which reoccur throughout he play lift it out of the naturalistic and into the realm of a Bubba and Luvvie's shared delusional world that Strachan never explains but uses to heighten the drama, relying on Soteriou and McDermott's ability to sustain these moments with great effect. The set is minimal with simply a wooden bench and dustbin but the presence of a white backdrop, where images of the sea are projected onto at the beginning of the play has a powerful, almost nauseating effect, as the image and sound of waves come crashing down around the theatre. At times words appear on the backdrop such as stab stab stab or TRUTH which adds a humorous, in your face effect and refers to the script's self awareness. This works particularly well with the waves immersing the audience at eye level with the ocean and creates an epic sensation in the tiny theatre. Sound effects are originally created by the actors themselves as McDermott slaps his cheek to replicate a coin dropping into the sea. The lighting is very subtle as it moves from daylight to twilight as the moon is projected on the back of the stage, and at times a red filter is employed intensifying McDermott's sudden switches to murderous intent. Bubba and Luvvie is an entertaining play in the tradition of a romantic whodunnit, except the whodunnit element is usurped by the fact that we have only two characters on stage. What is interesting however, is how the thriller aspect is sustained due to the unpredictability of McDermott's Bubba, as one is never sure if he will resort to violence. The stage chemistry between McDermott and Soteriou is ever present, as the history of their prior relationship bubbles to the surface and the power that they exert over one another is dictated by the hints we get from the stories of their colourful past. This is a gripping piece of writing, at times a bit overloaded with poeticisms, but its’ playful engagement with language where letters slip, such as nursery ‘crime’ and proverbs are provocatively parried show an energetic display of linguistic vitality that never fails to entertain. McDermott brings to life the menace and spitefully pathetic nature of Bubba while Soteriou's Luvvie inhabits a sexually charged woman with a lacerating tongue. Bubba and Luvvie is definitely worth watching for its biting humour and mercurial language which the actors relish through top quality performances.
King's Head Theatre Price: £11.00 - £19.25 http://www.ticketswitch.com/tickets/web_finder.buy/kingshead
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