Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane isn’t just a play; it’s a cold lesson in why you have to be careful who you let crash on your sofa. Kath (Tamzin Outhwaite), who nails the desperate, slightly off-her-rocker landlady role) rents a spare room to Mr Sloane (Jordan Stephens, stepping up from Rizzle Kicks, looking smooth but sus) and she’s immediately on the prowl. She’s simultaneously trying to mother him, marry him, or maybe just ride the wave. Either way, it’s giving extreme thirst.
Kath’s brother Ed (Daniel Cerqueira), all suited up and decidedly shifty, wants a piece of the action too. Now Sloane’s caught in this grubby love triangle—or, let’s be real, a straight-up tug-of-war for the young guy’s attention and affection. The “miserable grandad” figure in Entertaining Mr Sloane is Kemp (Christopher Fairbank), the ageing, partially-sighted father of Kath and Ed. He’s a wonderfully cantankerous and suspicious. His main function is to inject a sudden, jarring dose of morals and history into the otherwise sexually charged and manipulative household. He constantly needles his children and, crucially, is the only one who seems to recognise Sloane’s sinister past, often referring to the new lodger as a suspected murderer.
Director Nadia Fall drops us right in the mess with a Peter McKintosh’s astonishing stage that spins and junk hanging from the ceiling like their whole life is a busted recycling depot – well, the house is built next to a rubbish dump. It adds to the messiness of the story whilst watching this mad family drama unfold. The chat is dark, funny, and straight-up twisted. It’s a reminder that no matter how clean your front room looks, there’s always some serious dirt underneath the surface.
Good to see Rizzle Kicks do something different, and we’re looking forward to seeing more theatrics from him.
