Review: Verbal Diary (Cryer Arts Centre)

I was invited to review Verbal Diary way back at the start of May, when this hobby of mine was in its infancy.  The show sounded interesting and quirky to me, so I was glad to have been invited.

When I walked into the theatre space, the first thing I noticed was a huge book on stage. During the show, the pages of this enormous diary (created by John Bulley, Ash Whiting and Dave Taylor) were turned, revealing new set backgrounds to suit the narrative. What a brilliant piece of set.

The original version of this show was written back in 1984 by John Otway and Paul Bradley (aka Nigel from Eastenders), and produced by Rik Mayall. Forty years later, Tom Johnson has rewritten and developed the show, in which he also performs as Gordon, a photographer who has recently moved into a shared property with 3 other housemates. Gordon has decided to write a diary and unfortunately for him, his flatmates are enjoying reading every word as he does so.

The casting was superb.  Georgie Harriet-King played Cheryl, Gordon’s crush, who initially is unsure about her new housemate, but warms to him as the show goes on. Cheryl becomes more likeable herself as a result, and has a great solo song in the second half as well. James Little’s Tristam is a pretentious artist, who is very amusing, particularly when he and Cheryl are listening in on Gordon from the next room. Alex J Carter plays both housemate Phil, and Gordon’s boss Eric Ericson, two very different characters, which showed an impressive display of versatility.

The way these actors bounced off each other was seamless, and direction by Sara Thompson ensured the humour kept appearing in different ways, with a brilliant mixture of physical comedy, unexpectedly bonkers outfit changes and great comedy writing – including some songs which, particularly in the second half, really stood out.

In addition, four musicians – Nick Pynn and Charlie Skelton (on fiddles), Scutty Lee (guitar) and Hannah Whitbourne (Cello) - were also on stage, and at times involved in the show in very humorous ways.

The plot wasn’t the most challenging, but this didn’t matter because the comedy was constant, and this is the sort of show you watch with a permanent smile on your face, as the gags keep coming.  The variety in the comedy kept it fresh throughout, and the performances from the cast and musicians were faultless. Special mention must go to Tom Johnson who was involved in the majority of scenes in the show and whose performance reminded me of a young Jack Black at times, with the influence of Rik Mayall being palpable.

Once the show had finished, Tom Johnson brought John Otway onto the stage and introduced him.  This was followed by a performance by the pair of them with the musicians and additionally Richard Holgarth on keyboards (balanced on an iron!). This performance was special, not only because of the delivery of the music but also because of the very obvious genuine affection between the two men.   What a brilliant way to round off the evening.

⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

This was the final stop of the tour for Verbal Diary.

If you would like to see more of my curtain call photographs from this and other shows, please visit my Instagram.

I was gifted a ticket for this show in exchange for an honest review.