Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Verbal Diary
The Human Menagerie
Genre: Comedy, Live Music, Theatre
Venue: Greenside @ George Street
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A warm hearted piece of theatre with an engaging tale of friendship, betrayal and full on infatuation. Oh, and a bucket load of anarchic dialogue and movement, laced with a dash of absurdism. It a bit “The Young Ones” meets “Bottom” for those of you old enough to remember those game changing comedies from the 80’s and early 90’s.
Review
Gordon, a gawky and somewhat hapless photojournalist for an insignificant local newspaper, makes a New Year resolution to keep a daily diary. Nothing unusual there, you might think, many folks like to capture the daily minutiae of their lives for posterity.
However, in Gordon’s case, it’s mainly to track his progress towards winning the affections of fellow flat mate Cheryl. But the gullible lad doesn’t realise that the three others that share this cramped accommodation, Phil, Tristram and the aforementioned Cheryl, know where he hides the little book – and are reading his every word.
Verbal Diary was conceived by and starred singer-songwriter, wannabe actor John Otway in conjunction with Paul Bradley, another seeking his fame and fortune treading the boards. The duo somehow persuaded Rik Mayall to invest a few bob in the venture so were able to cobble enough funds together to launch themselves (and their performing careers) at the Fringe. In 1984.
Forty years on and Tom Johnson is pursuing the same goals with pretty much the same material, albeit with some carefully crafted additions to nudge the thing into the 21st century. But the essence of the plot remains and the piece also provides an excellent showcase for an interesting selection from Otway’s back catalogue whilst accommodating new, original music.
And what a warm hearted piece of theatre it turns out to be, an engaging tale of friendship, betrayal and full on infatuation. Oh, and a bucket load of anarchic dialogue and movement, laced with a dash of absurdism. It a bit “The Young Ones” meets “Bottom” for those of you old enough to remember those game changing comedies from the 80’s and early 90’s.
There’s so much to admire too. The acting is top notch, with characters nicely formed and delivered with clarity and consistency. There’s often a tendency in pieces like this for actors to go a bit “off piste”, sending up the material, and themselves. Not here though. Ash Whiting’s creative and disciplined direction hits all the right notes, resulting in a performance that flows smoothly despite the many (and sometimes quite complex) scene changes.
Tom Johnson is spot-on as the gawky, awkward Gordon. His ill-fitting, badly stained and worn suit seems so redolent of an impecunious newspaperman and his mannerisms and delivery convey just the right level of naivety and anxiety. Georgie Harriet-King as Cheryl, the love interest, provides a perfect foil, her calm demeanour concealing a steely determination to lift herself out this cramped and cluttered environment. And Bruce Murray nails his role as Tristram Debris, the pretentious poet, toiling to create his next great work but somehow always seeming to be a stanza or two short.
But the show is rather stolen (in a good way) by Alex J Carter who doubles up as Phil, the flatmate and the rather eccentric Eric, Gordon’s newspaper boss, desperate to make his name as an investigative reporter. Carter’s created great contrast in these two characters which he aces every time, and the physical theatre he deploys in both roles is exemplary, really adding to their portrayal. Top notch stuff.
But the set – oh that set! It must be the best piece of creative design on display at the Fringe. It comes in the style of a pop-up book, conceived for the original 1984 production by Paul Bradley’s brother Ciaran and a colleague, Bettina Dix and faithfully recreated here by director Ash Whiting and Dave Taylor. It’s amazing, the “pages” turning to reveal a variety of rooms in the flat, newspaper offices, streets and more. It’s worth the ticket price alone to see it in action, and how quickly and easily it packs down to a fraction of its size at the end of the show.
And how have I unearthed all this interesting background? Well, the icing on the cake of this show is the splendidly written and produced programme, containing contributions from Otway as well as Johnson, plus some wonderful photos of the set creation and of the original show from 1984.
This show is another of those wonderful Fringe “hidden gems” that are a delight when you unearth them. Verbal Diary has much to recommend it, so why not trundle along to Greenside’s rabbit warren of a venue on George Street.
