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The agony and the misogyny: Banging Denmark @finborough

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Banging Denmark, the comic play by Van Badham, answers the question, what lengths does a misogynistic pickup artist go to date with a frosty Danish librarian? It may be an uneasy farce given the subject matter, but it is made more palatable by the cast assembled to convince you of it. It's currently having its European premiere at the Finborough Theatre .  It opens with Guy DeWitt (Tom Kay) at one end of the stage. His real name is Jake, and he's a part-time podcaster whose expertise is misogyny and playing the role of the pickup artist. That is, someone who attempts to coax women into having sex with a mix of flattery or manipulation. His podcast attracts a variety of involuntarily celibate men (or incels), so call in asking for advice. And while he gives the impression of living the high life, he is in a grimy flat strewn with empty pizza boxes.  At the other end of the stage is feminist academic Ishtar (Rebecca Blackstone). She lives out of the photocopy room, losing all her

Dying: A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the (etc etc) @Finborough

Halley Feiffer’s A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre of New York City explores the fine line between laughter and grief. It’s having its European premiere at the Finborough Theatre.

In this case it is facing grief, cancer and death in a pink hospital room. Complete with wall art that’s evocative as much as it’s hideous. You have to laugh that even facing death stereotypes persist. But it could be a hospital anywhere. These waiting rooms for those between life and death with their safety signs, equipment all look the same. And for anyone that’s had to visit someone in such a room, there is something funny about that. Even if you aren’t working on a stand up routine.

Feiffer, who dramatised a dysfunctional playwright and his actor daughter in I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard, explores the funny side of death here. It opens with Karla (Cariad Lloyd), a stand up comedian trying out jokes on her mother, Marcie (Kristin Milward). Marcie’s lying asleep in her hospital bed. Recovering from surgery and sedated with painkillers. The jokes aren’t working particularly well. Marcie isn’t the only one in the room dying. Trouble is the room is shared by another sleeping patient, Geena (Cara Chase). And her son, Don (Rob Crouch), has arrived to pay a visit. And he doesn’t see the funny side to jokes about dildos and masturbation.

After this setup it then turns to an exploration and challenge about what is socially acceptable when dealing with cancer and death. And even if there may not be many surprises in how things turn out, the finely drawn characters and performances bring out the best of Feiffer’s writing.

Lloyd as the narcissistic standup comedian with a stream of conscious monologues is both amazing and hilarious. Milward as her mother and potential monster pierces the drama with her in bed interruptions. And Crouch is likable as the dishevelled Don grapples between the what he wants to do and what he thinks he should be doing.

Directed by Bethany Pitts, “Funny Thing” is at the Finborough Theatre until 27 October. Catch it if you can.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photos by James O Jenkins

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