This review was originally written for The Public Reviews: http://www.thepublicreviews.com
Short, rotund and 30-ish, Andrew Maddock has the look of a miniature James Cordon, which makes him perfect to perform these two monologues in the guises of laddish Londoners, known simply as “Me”. But then he would be perfect, because they are described as “semi-autobiographical” and he wrote them. The plays are humorous and poignant reflections on life at a time when childhood and teenage years are gone and the harsher realities of the adult world are coming into focus. Maddock has taken the risk of writing the plays in rhyming couplets, which could have made them feel over-stylised, but the gamble pays handsome dividends. Each time that he delivers a successful rhyme, Maddock the actor seems to exude a glow of satisfaction which underscores the essential cockiness of both characters. In Junkie, “Me” is a self-conscious loner, addicted to drugs and the internet. He has set up a date with Tabatha, with whom he only communicates by text and, acting on her insistence that must wear red, he visits Top Shop to find only a tight-fitting jumper which accentuates exactly what he most wants to hide. The digital age is supposed to have made meeting girls easier, but, for “Me”, it has done the opposite. He posts the most favourable images and descriptions of himself on dating sites, assuming that others will do the same, but, knowing that the average first date lasts just 12 minutes, he is overcome by trepidation when the time comes to reveal the truth. Ultimately, the habit which this character finds hardest to break is loneliness. Hi Life, I Win sees “Me” hospitalised, undergoing tests and facing up to his own mortality. He looks back on growing up in the 1990s, fondly remembering Grandad Fred whose death was followed by a family break-up and his own drift into unruliness. To put him back on the straight and narrow, he was sent to a religious centre in London Colney and given guidance by “Arizona Dan”, an adherent of God and Loudon Wainwright III. This “Me” has a not particularly likeable past, but there is something deeply moving about seeing him fall to his knees sobbing, a teenage thug now humbled by fate. As he takes random fragments of his life – family, acquaintances, education, religion – and starts to piece them together, he seems to be realising that his existence could have some meaning, even if he cannot yet figure out what it is. The Me Plays are insightful and sobering, yet they always entertain, adding a touch of poetry to the regular monologue format. Andrew Maddock is a talent to be watched.
Performance date: 3 September 2014
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