‘you are guaranteed some laugh-out loud entertainment’
Trio Entertainment Ltd pull out the stops with their production of Bouncers, John Godber’s classic 1977 play covering an evening working the doors of a nightclub for four bored doormen and their likely clientele: four young beer swilling lads hoping to get lucky and four excitable teenage girls out for a bit of dancing, drinking, and whatever the eye might fancy, including visits to the hairdressers and fast food vendors.
What makes this a clever piece of theatre is that all the roles are portrayed by our four bouncers – Judd (Steven Arnold), Les (Stephen Hoyle), Lucky Eric (Rob Stuart-Hudson), and Ralph (Warren Donnelly) – who with a simple set, minimal props, and no costume changes, inject their all to give us an evening of high energy entertainment to a lively backing track.
Under the direction of Mark Chatterton, the interchanges are numerous and executed smoothly through voice changes and recognisable physical actions, which are more than enough to tell you who is being represented. To move between burly bouncer, giggly girl, and brawling boy in the blink of an eye demands a high level of skill and dexterity and we were not let down with polished performances from all four of the cast aided by some superb and perfectly timed choreography that included dance routines through to slow motion fight scenes, a ‘rewind’, and Stuart-Hudson and Donnelly’s hilarious ‘Norwegian’ moment.
Within this frenzy, we also have some monologues from the elder, experienced Eric, impressively portrayed by Stuart-Hudson, which provide a sombre contrast to the excitement and energy of a night out that often extends to binge drinking, casual sex, and violence: one can’t but help come away with the realisation that for all the hype each of the characters outwardly displays in this very funny play, their lives are ultimately desperately empty as they seek salvation or solace from their night out.
With an opening half of forty-five minutes and a second half of thirty minutes, I’m not sure an almost thirty-minute interval was justified, and the production would have flowed better if played straight through. It would also be worth considering bringing the play more up to date with reflections of modern life – as has been done elsewhere with the blessing of Godber – as some aspects felt dated, in particular the conversational style, and some stereotypes were taken a little further than was necessary.
Fresher references to social media and the internet would resonate more strongly with an audience than a mere reminisce down memory lane and given that this is a play that thrives on audience engagement, that energy was missing tonight, with the audience seemingly not fully connected and the long break only serving to exacerbate that.
Ultimately with the quality of the writing backed up by slick performances from the cast, you are guaranteed some laugh-out loud entertainment, but I would challenge you to look that little bit closer as well: amidst the humour is a strong social message cleverly delivered.
The Epstein Theatre is a space where comedy, music, theatre, dance, and family shows sit side by side, and everyone’s welcome through the doors. Further information and details of upcoming productions https://www.epsteintheatre.com/
Bouncers has two further performances at Epstein Theatre on Saturday 7th March with a matinee at 2.30pm and an evening performance at 7.30pm. Further details and booking Epstein Theatre – Bouncers
Review Date: 6th March 2026
Star Rating: THREE