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THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

“As good as it gets - Mind the Gap's Birthday Party”
REVIEW by Graham Cleverley, Luxembourg Times

With “chillingly perfect” performances, reviewer Graham Cleverley finds it “difficult to find any criticism” of must-see show The Birthday Party at the Théâtre National du Luxembourg…

…On this night, Timothy Lone’s direction was pacy where required but flexible, varying from Pinter’s pauses to the machine gun exchanges (beautifully done) between Goldberg (Adrian Diffey) and McCann (Gav Guilfoyle) as they hurl questions and predictions at the terrified Stanley (Tom Shells). In terms of the performances he and the cast produced, it’s difficult to think of any criticism…

…Fran Potasnik as Meg floats through the action displaying just the right amount of dizziness and ignorance of what is going on about her: I did think though the characterization was somewhat too young, making her mild dementia seem more abnormal than a function of age. Still, that’s a matter of interpretation rather than acting, which was as close to perfect as matters…

…The same is true of Adrian Diffey’s playing of Goldberg, unmistakably Jewish, Cockney Jewish if you like, but not stereotypically. The part really carries the play, in that with a bad Goldberg, no-one else would have much of a chance, but here his shoulders are well up to the burden. The part is very complex inasmuch as Goldberg keeps making up his own family backgrounds, and blends chameleon-like into all of them, becoming, when necessary, all things to all men. Diffey copes with them all – indeed masters them all…

HEROES OF COMEDY

"Spotlight on British Comedy"
REVIEW by Encore Michigan

Laughter, it’s often said, is the universal language. To prove the point, the show “British Heroes of Comedy” …begins with a series of amusing pranks and pratfalls that contain nary a spoken word. Included are such comedic staples as a pie in the face and the equally classic tumble caused by a carelessly discarded banana peel. From there, the show proceeds to take a jaunty excursion down the halls of British comedy, with special emphasis on sketches made famous by some of the best of the genre…

…all [sketches] have that unique flavor that can only be found in British comedy. “The Boxer and the Painter” is a classic sketch originally done by Peter Sellers and Dudley More. The skit, here featuring Brent Logfren and Richie Slater, has a prize fighter combining fisticuffs with modern art, a switch which he easily accomplishes by punching at a blank canvas with his inked boxing gloves. “Jewelry,” featuring Fran Potasnik and Carrie Sayer, is about two women hocking trinkets on a television show (think QVC) and the insipid dialogue that’s exchanged between them as they go about selling their wares.

A skit drawn from a Monty Python routine has a man returning an obviously dead parrot to the store and having to deal with a clerk who insists the parrot is alive but merely out of sorts. “Elementary Courting”, originated by Rowan Atkinson who’s known for his work on the sitcom “Mr. Bean”, is a hilarious mime about the do’s and don’ts of what should and shouldn’t be done when a young man is attempting to seek the favor of a young lass. One of the best sketches, another classic from the Peter Sellers playbook, has Adrian Diffey playing Richard III soliloquizing, not from Shakespeare, but from the lyrics of the Beatles’ song “A Hard Day’s Night.”

…“Heroes” is a smashing night’s entertainment, and you’re sure to find much that will tantalize and titillate.

THE LESSON

REVIEW by Daniel Skora, It's All Theatre

Mind the Gap Productions presents a superb and deliciously creepy production of "The Lesson." 

[The Lesson] offers the opportunity to see not only a Theatre of the Absurd classic, but to enjoy Mind the Gap's splendid production. The show scores big on all fronts. 

Adrian Diffey's performance is 'one for the books.' His is a bravura performance that would, were it humanly possible, continue to attract devotees of inspirational and relevant theatre for decades to come.