There was little, if anything, that Rodney Black (Ben Willows) said in his stand-up sets that hasn’t, one way or another, been heard before. Perhaps it’s something to do with living and working in London, where one is exposed to all sorts of wacky and wonderful opinions on all sorts of matters, though Black came across to me, and much of the audience at the performance I attended, from what I could gather, as merely unfunny rather than offensive. Audible gasps? There came none.
On reflection, this made little difference to the story’s trajectory. The show’s critical incident, which somewhat strangely occurs off-stage, is serious enough to make Black believe his world has fallen apart. Fearful for his future in the entertainment industry, or indeed in any line of employment, it’s not entirely clear if Black has indeed been cancelled. After all, if he is still making the news, is ‘bad’ publicity still better than no publicity at all? His chirpy manager (Bertie Taylor-Smith), is ever seeking, as entertainment managers arguably should, different avenues to keep Black in the public eye. Completing the set of on-stage characters is Merida Beasley’s unnamed Woman, who makes some curious observations and guarded insights into what happened to a fan of Black.
Too often, though, one hears one side of a conversation, which made it difficult to gain a fully rounded picture of what was going on. The term “straight white men” was repeated several times during the course of this one-act play: they are, the production asserts, the only legitimate group of people it is still possible in this day and age to openly ridicule on the stand-up comedy circuit, without being called out for being discriminatory. I shall leave it to readers to agree or disagree, though my experiences at Edinburgh Fringe 2024 would suggest it remains open season. But in the world created in the show – suspension of disbelief comes into play – Black’s crisis arises in part because there are no personal characteristics he can use in mitigation against the tide of public opinion turning against him.
The play is, to be fair, more nuanced than throwing direct allegations at Black – it is rather that his stand-up material has influenced someone else who, so to speak, tried on at home that which shouldn’t be tried on at home. Black protests that he has created a ‘character’: there is, in other words, a huge difference between the things his chauvinistic stand-up persona claims has happened, and what the ‘real’ Rodney Black is even capable of. If someone else literally emulates a deliberately abrasive and antagonistic character, is that really Black’s problem?
Readers of certain right-leaning and left-leaning newspapers come in for criticism, and I got the feeling the production seemed to be against mainstream media in general, which I personally think is fair enough (Black’s manager attempts to steer him towards more use, by which he meant use in the first place, of social media platforms). The production does well to switch quickly between different scenes – far quicker than most fringe theatre shows – going from stand-up venue to dressing room in an instant. There were some intriguing themes introduced that could have been fleshed out more, though a convincing cast does well with what they are given.
Review by Chris Omaweng
“Stewart Lee should be writing one of his intellectual-cry-wank pieces about how dog-sh*te you are. That’s when you know you’ve made it.”
Rodney Black has made his career as a two-fingers-up-to-polite-society comedian, infamous for outrage and provocation. Fuelled by contemporary qualms about ‘language’ policing, his career is at its peak as he titillates and aggravates with equal measure, cushioned by the seemingly impenetrable defence that it is all ‘just a joke!’. The ultimate dichotomy between celebrity and reality, it seems Rodney doesn’t believe a word he says, owing his career to a gratuitous persona and a money-hungry manager. When a dedicated super-fan makes headlines, Rodney is faced with an ethical dilemma as he engages with new found spotlight – to what extent is Rodney culpable?
Ben Willows – Rodney Black
Bertie Taylor-Smith – Manager
Merida Beasley – Woman
Writer – Sadie Pearson
Director – Hen Ryan
Producer – Grace Shropshire
Sound Design – Ava Zarate
Lighting Design – Laura Hulme
Full Frontal Theatre Ltd presents
RODNEY BLACK: WHO CARES? IT’S WORKING.
Lion & Unicorn Theatre, 42-44 Gaisford Street, Kentish Town, London NW5 2ED
17 to 21 December 2024
