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There is a lad in Car who is a master of the yearning poetics of the automobile. He can hymn off all the details, all the things you never wanted to know about a Ferrari. But by the end he is longing to stop, for just one minute, thinking about cars. The longing to stop on the part of the four lads, to step out of their lives, is the driving force running through this fine piece of contemporary theatre.
Jason, Marky, Nick and Tim have stolen a car. It is what they do. But this time the victim, the solid, hard working citizen who owns the car, chases them, is perhaps injured, and the reality of their lives starts to overwhelm them. They think they are mates, but as one of them says, it is not so; they just steal cars together.
Deftly, the writer Chris O'Connell, builds up for each of them a recognisable character with real depth and humanity. In counterpoint there is Robert, the probation officer, trying to make sense of a world he knows well but can never be part of and Gary, the owner of the car, shaken, crying out for the focus of attention to be entirely on him.
Robert arranges mediation and in a powerful confrontation the interactions between the lad who drove the car away and the victim unfold surprisingly but convincingly. The performances fizz with energy. All of the cast are excellent, but Lee Colley as Jason takes the breath away with the manic diatribes of a lost soul who can see what he wants, just, forever, out of reach. Gary Cargill as Marky, the tough, the man who is not allowed near his wife and children, nevertheless achieves moments which are deeply poignant.
O'Connell weaves his multi-stranded plot with a filmic sensibility and dynamic, and the direction is well-nigh immaculate. It is a roller coaster of a play, with moments of black comedy and pathos. Well worth a visit.
- Leslie Hills.
The Scotsman 11/08/99
29/01/07
Two very different Englands are represented here. Different on the surface anyway. Gary is from Middle England. He earns a good living as a salesman, has a nice wife, a nice home and nice kids. Nick is the product of a dysfunctional family from a sink estate. He gets his kicks by stealing cars with his mates. When they pinch Gary's T-reg VW Golf, their lives begin to spin out of control. And so does Gary's.
Beneath the smooth exterior is a seething cauldron of resentment. Unlike Nick, Gary knows the difference between right and wrong. Or does he? Soon after they meet for mediation, he tells Nick that he wants to pick up the teapot that stands between them and pour its boiling contents all over him. Chris O'Connell's searing script is written to be performed at breakneck speed, and the cast don't let him down. Stephen Banks as Gary and Lee Colley as Nick's even more screwed up mate Jason, are exceptional. They deliver fast yet clear and precise bursts of robust street dialogue, honed into something close to poetry.
Mark Babych's taut direction serves the writing well. This is not comfortable theatre, but it is exhilarating and challenging.
- Chris Arnot
The Guardian 11/08/99
29/01/07
Violence, drug abuse, murder and suicide would hardly seem palatable ingredients for an entertaining theatre night out. Yet Car, performed by Theatre Absolute at the Royal Exchange Studio Theatre, is one of the most powerful plays I've seen.
Chris O'Connell's award winning work - spoken in the vibrant street talk we hear every day - sounds like urban poetry. It's superbly directed by Mark Babych and performed in a series of dramatic snapshots linked by pounding music, making it very much a play for today. The energy on stage is palpable and the casting is faultless in what, ostensibly, is the story of four misfits who steal a car for kicks.
Paul Simpson, Simon Greiff, Richard Oldham and Andres Salcedo are totally believable as the young offenders who take a drive with tragic consequences. James Low has a quiet authority as the caring probation officer, while Jim Pyke is the angry victim. However, this modern parable does more than reflect the increasing violence in our society - questioning who are the real victims in the Russian roulette of birth and circumstances. O'Connell is a remarkable new voice and the ferocious verbal assault of his language is reminiscent of the works of Berkoff or Godber. Incredibly, among all the searing pain of anger and self-loathing, there is much laughter.
Unfortunately, such is the reputation of this piece that Car has already practically sold out. But queue if you have to, for an unforgettable piece of theatre.
- Natalie Anglesey
Source
29/01/07