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Directed
by
Dan Crawford
Assistant
Directors
Sally Rapier
Caroline Smith
Performed by
David Black
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The
King's Head Theatre
15
January - 17 February 2002 |
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Among the cosmopolitan
cafes of Islington's Upper Street are
to be found some of the best venues
to see new theatrical work in London.
One of them is The King's Head Theatre,
which has long been producing plays
to rival the West End, some of them
so successful that they have graduated
from the fringe into main stream theatre.
Recent examples of productions making
this move are "The Vagina Monologues"
and "A Day In The Death Of Joe
Egg"
The
friendly King's Head atmosphere well
suits the conversational ease of "Falling
off Broadway". David Black plays
himself, reminiscing autobiographically
about his eventful life on and off Broadway
as a producer. During the course of
a long and sometimes roller-coaster
life in New York theatre he entertained
presidents, battled to keep shows afloat,
and started some famous people on their
roads to showbusiness success, among
them Burt Reynolds and Barry Manilow.
The stories Black tells are witty and
sometimes poignant, and the moral they
offer is that the only predictable thing
about life is its unpredictability.
"Falling
off Broadway" is more an after-dinner
monologue than a piece of theatre, which
is indeed the intention; and it makes
for a pleasant and sometimes instructive
passing of time. It is a must for collectors
of Broadway tales, but do not expect
drama or revelation, or anything besides
amusement.
Elizabeth
Shenton |
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