‘It’s a dangerous game to compare your work to that of Martin McDonagh and the Coen Brothers. . . the fall from such lofty heights doesn’t come with a safety net’
Skullhouse Productions present Dogtale Theatre’s double-bill of plays – Clowns and Boxing – written and directed by Charlie Prothero.
Clowns introduces Mittens (Matthew Swinnerton), an old clown, not particularly funny, but particularly fed up. So much so, that he decides to commit an armed burglary. It doesn’t go well, and he ends up fleeing back to his travelling circus with the goods.
Unlucky for him, two other clowns a young couple named Jessie (Maisie Blake) and Bill (Danny Roberts) are in the tent when he arrives. Unlucky for them, Mittens decides to tie them up. Then, the police (Louis Farrell; Rio Palavissini; Edward James; Shaun Winship; Jack Gallagher) arrive with a hostage negotiator (Rebekah Jayne Moreland). Then, things get worse.
The set design was strong replete with a big top backdrop and good attention to detail with some elements of the presentation as the play unfolded (no spoilers).
Aside of this however, much of this 50-minute piece faltered. Whilst Swinnerton delivered a strong performance that really got under the skin of Mittens – he effectively carried the play – Blake and Roberts’ ‘will they, wont they’ relationship wasn’t sufficiently established or developed which made it difficult to engage with them or care much for their plight.
The appearance of the police through the audience was a good idea but a proper consideration of sightlines would have established that leaving them there, crouched and poised, was not so clever, and with this element of comic writing and performance falling somewhat short, it was completely at odds with the action on the main stage.
The Epstein has good acoustics and actors are trained to project, so I am at a loss as to why the cast were miked up. Equally the use of some lengthy classic blues backing songs early on didn’t seem entirely necessary and it felt – given that the ‘police’ delivered a musical set of covers in the bar during the interval – that this was effectively filler for a lack of developed plot.
Boxing follows two characters: Father Garvey (Paul Phillip Ryan), a deeply miserable priest who has lost faith in his congregation, and Michael (Adam Gannon), a troubled young man whose innocence and boundless energy are a test for anyone’s patience.
After Garvey takes revenge on neighbour Beryl for killing his dog, it’s up to Michael to get everyone out of the sticky situation they find themselves in through the power of connection, redemption, and unexpected friendship.
There was a strong adaptable set design complete with an altar and pews backdrop, and I liked the use of two chairs to recreate the confessional. The subsequent interchange reflecting the characters in different locations was cleverly done, although again it is questionable why the cast are miked up.
As with Clowns, much of what followed in the next seventy minutes faltered due to a lack of meaningful character depth and development and unbelievable dialogue. That’s not a reflection on the actors; the material simply wasn’t there.
The use of classic anthem music appeared more as a fop to a family and friends loaded audience who, of sorts, were willing to join in with the karaoke-style renditions but it added little and seemed to be filler for the lack of substance in the storyline: doing it once is maybe all right but continually resurrecting it as a device, which happened here, served only to protract the long-awaited ending.
It’s a dangerous game to compare your work to that of Martin McDonagh and the Coen Brothers in your press release, because the fall from such lofty heights doesn’t come with a safety net.
I’ve written at length about the importance of healthy creative friction between writer, director, and actors that benefits the development of a production, and there are very few people who can successfully combine them.
Prothero has a good grounding in production values from his work with local theatre companies that was evident in both set designs, but scratch at that surface and the substance wasn’t there. If Prothero wants to write, then I would encourage him to introduce a separate director, but I can’t help but wonder whether these two plays perhaps illustrate where his real talent lies.
Review Date: 25th July 2026
Star Rating: TWO