Park Theatre, London – until 20th October 2023
Reviewed by Celia Armand Smith
3***
Two actors, a tired runner, and a trailer sliding into a volcano. It sounds like a set up for a joke. And the jokes are plentiful in this new production of It’s Headed Straight Towards Us at the Park Theatre. Written by Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer, It’s Headed Straight Towards Us takes place in a trailer (the kind you find on movie and TV sets) in Iceland where the seventh instalment of the ‘Vulcan’ sci-fi franchise is being filmed. A franchise I would gladly watch. Iceland is a place of myth, folklore and famous air travel stopping volcanoes, where the land and it’s inhabitants, elves included, are respected. I’m no scientist, but put a movie set for a most probably straight to streaming sci-fi full of has-beens and wannabes on the side of a volcano, and most likely it is going to take it’s revenge.
Huge Delavoix MBE (Samuel West) has the biggest trailer on set and is once again playing a butler on screen. Gary Savage (Rufus Hound) has one line in the film, a drinking problem that leads to blackouts, and has to sit in hair and make up for 4 hours. Gary has had a huge Hollywood career but is homeless so takes any role so he can stay in a hotel, Hugh is a character actor who always plays the same character, but can buy himself baroque sofas and cats. They are fierce rivals and fierce friends, the kind who know a bit too much about each other so there is always a barbed joke or a witty riposte. Trying to keep the peace is Leela (Nenda Neururer), a runner studying volcanoes with a passion for Icelandic folklore and tradition. Rounding out the cast is the stage itself. The trailer designed by Michael Talyor is constantly moving and creaking, providing the backdrop for the action. As an avalanche hits, and an already fragile bridge crashes into a crevasse, they are left stranded with a make up trailer’s supply of cheap white wine, and only themselves for company.
Samuel West is delightful and understated yet comedically perfect as Hugh, divorced from a wife, sober (went to AA for the networking), and sort of happy in his out gay life. He has taken up tai chi and cobbling to pass the time and be more like Daniel Day-Lewis. Rufus Hound is fiery yet poignant as the drunk star who can remember all the lines from every part he has ever played, and has a fondness for saying whatever he likes. The character of Gary at times strays a bit too close to the current news cycle, however Hound plays him with gusto, and towards the end a tenderness that is a welcome change from the shouty beginnings. Together Hound and West are a comedic treat. Nenda Neururer as Leela is a sweet breezy break from the thespy egos, and under direction from Rachel Kavanaugh, the cast keeps the pace nimble and the jokes flowing.
It’s always fun to peak behind the curtain of the film industry, and that is where the strength in this show lies. The believability of the relationships, the on set hierarchies, and the time spent between takes. It is a welcome and at times hilarious glimpse through the looking glass.