REVIEW: THE WEST Immersive Theatre at COLAB Tavern, SE1 until 1 October 2022

‘The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - Firing Blanks in SE London’ ★★ ½

For me, the term ‘immersive theatre’ is up there with ‘Bus Replacement Service’ and ‘Leisure Centre’ - it fills me with dread and horror.

The idea of having to get involved with a show rather than just kicking back with a glass of sauvignon blanc and a sign saying ‘entertain me’ doesn’t sit that well especially as, the odd company and production notwithstanding, it’s very hard to truly get this kind of thing right. Indeed, earlier this year I went to a high profile immersive-type theatrical ‘event’ with a huge budget and big ideas, only to be utterly bored at the lack of any kind of coherent narrative (nb I should add that the curation was stunning).

And so, on a warm Wednesday night I bravely ventured to The Elephant & Castle for my first taste of immersive veterans COLAB Theatre, whose previous productions had been well received. I decided not to take up their gently prodded offer of wearing suitable cowboy attire, but the slightly dilapidated pub that greeted me boded well for a fun night…..which I got, but not without a myriad of problems.

A good start - nice courtyard, free drink, actors in character sizing up their audience for extroverts, drunks and loners, and the premise revealed. We were in Olverton, the Wild West, a town that had been torn apart by a sandstorm and was under threat by the so-called Snakebite Bandits who had robbed, murdered and pillaged. We met the town’s sheriff and mayor - a married couple and tension abounding - and were welcomed inside by their son Francis who asked us in to receive confession. After sitting in a small booth for what seemed like a lifetime, watching a short video on a loop that hinted at the carnage to come (but we couldn’t hear it properly), we then progressed to the bar. Ah yes, the old ‘pause-and-please-buy-some-drinks’ routine. And there we all sat for about 20 minutes with precisely nothing to do. Not good.

Eventually things got moving and what played out was a hotchpotch of ideas, scripted ‘games’, a few decent ad libs and the most bizarre ending - the Good, the Bad & the Ugly, if you will……

The Good - there is fun to be had here and I would suggest going in a small group, dressing up, have a few drinks and embrace it. The town is set over 2 floors across the pub and whilst there weren’t too many smart details in the dressing and curation, I did like how we were pulled from room to room with a clear sense of change and moving the plot on. The small troupe of actors were undeniably hammy, but all worked hard and I especially liked Chris Keegan in multiple parts, especially playing the judge dispensing justice with aplomb and interacting nicely with the audience. The budget here is undoubtedly small but the thinking is big and as we broke off into different groups on differing tasks, it all came together rather well. There are some good lines - on ‘pegging’, on taking the interval (‘the family needs a break to talk - say, 15 minutes’) and the singing of ‘Country Road’ (‘from the book of Job, I think’). You can very easily have a fun night out here.

The Bad - there were too many moments that were overly static and, as a whole, the show doesn’t convince as a piece of theatre, escape room or as an adventure. There was no jeopardy. None of the ‘puzzles’ were puzzling. The music was at times too loud and the lighting too dark. Having heard good things about COLAB it felt like a first-time effort at this type of escapade. Crucially, and whilst the plot did hang together, I just really didn’t care about it all - not even when Francis was revealed to be…….

The Ugly - all roads led to a shootout having, in my group of baddies, employed the use of snakes and elephants to attack the town. As we reached the climax with pop guns in hand, it was suddenly more OK Computer as opposed to OK Corral as, from nowhere, one of the cast suddenly took on a doctor’s outfit and a RP accent to kill the piece stone dead babbling on about AI. I can see where the ‘twist’ could have worked and, again, you have to applaud the thinking. But the reality was almost comical - and then it ended.

As I walked out into the South East I was pretty relieved to leave the West but, do you know, I’m glad I went and wish the show well.

THE WEST

COLAB Tavern, London, SE1

13 July - 1 October 2022

Tickets  https://www.colabtheatre.co.uk/

Directed by Bertie Watkins

Written by Bertie Watkins, Ben Chamberlain, Charlotte Potter & The Company

Set, Lighting and Sound design by COLAB Theatrics

Cast Chris Keegan, Owen Jenkins, Grace Dunne, Sam Skoog, Liam Fleming, Alex Walton

Reviewed by Paul Maidment

Paul had a long career at the BBC where he ran a number of commercial / digital businesses and he now consults to the creative content sector. His love of theatre came from his wife whom he met at university and he has been attending shows ever since. In 2021/22 Paul was a member of The Olivier Awards public panel which re-enforced his belief in theatre as the most exciting and engrossing cultural medium.