SET in the summer of 1958 in a seedy Soho bar, Mojo is the abstract tale of a bunch of low-level criminals embroiled in a business deal that appears to have gone horribly wrong.
The exact details of the plot that drives this entertaining work are deliberately left hazy and are only slowly revealed throughout the play.
Until the last act Mojo is very much a piece concerned with mood, power plays and above all else, razor-sharp dialogue.
The play’s performers revel in the exhilaratingly manic hyper-activity of Jez Butterworth’s script, with Mike Lahiffe and James Powell excelling as close friends Potts and Sweets, who carry the bulk of the play’s dark humour.
The two are blasted on amphetamines for the first two thirds of the play, a detail which influences the tone of the piece, as it shifts from a madcap farce on speed to a creeping claustrophobic paranoia before ending in sinister quietus. It is Peter Fortune’s character of Baby that directs this descent into darkness. A disturbed, increasingly psychotic figure, Baby is seemingly always inches away from a violent explosion no matter what mood he is in. Fortune rises to the task of playing a difficult character admirably, and is never less than riveting.
Dermot Jones does well to anchor the piece in the more understated role of Mickey, while Ollie King’s Skinny is an hilariously wired nervous wreck.
For much of its stage time, Mojo appears to be a deft and witty gangster pulp, a brilliantly executed farce that never stoops to spoon-feeding the audience plot or character background.
These details are casually dropped into conversation, never feeling artificial. However, the immense tonal shift in the last third of the play, while jarring, is a risk that lends a degree of substance to all the motor mouth dialogue.

Until September 25
020 7704 6665

Cocktail tales

SHAKERS RE-STIRRED - UPSTAIRS AT THE GATEHOUSE
By MARTINA ANZINGER

ALL the world’s a cocktail bar, and we are merely dreamers. At least that’s what one of Hollywood’s stock genre takes on life would have you believe.
The denizens of Shakers are the good, the bad and the ugly – and dodgy dudes looking like men who drink Belgian beer. Even Jonathan Ross was said to have dropped by – once.
There aren’t many bars where you’d find shots like Basil Goes to Siberia, Salty Dog Zombies and a happy hour that lasts from 7-10pm.
The play is an update of authors John Godber and Jane Thornton’s earlier snapshot variation on what was once a sparkling dramatic theme – life seen through the bottom of a cocktail glass.
But 15 years on, the re-stirred mix is losing its sparkle. What saves the play is the confidence of 19-year-old directorial debutante Rose Lewenstein from the Blue Bud Stage Company who mixes fast-cut character changes – effortlessly segued by the cast – to maximum effect with some snappy one-liners.
And the Gatehouse, once used as courtroom, was the perfect setting for this up-close-and-personal play.
The dialogue resonates with pathos and even a little political edge: rumours that the UK still has a National Health Service – somewhere in Scotland and the ever-desperate hope of a show by local heart-throb “River Cruise” – a cross between Tom Cruise and River Phoenix.
For all the frenetic energy a superb cast – Susie Anton, Marianne Permaul, Helen Weaver and Becky Wright – bring to the party though, this is a well-shaken cocktail that will leave you only a little stirred.

Until September 17
020 8340 3488

Fun on planet of the japes

MONKEY ISLAND - HEN AND CHICKENS
By JENNIE GRUNER

MONKEY Island is a fairytale pantomime for 20-somethings, jam-packed with jokes that generally work well but occasionally fall flat.
It may have been a late start (9:30pm) at the popular Hen and Chickens fringe theatre at Highbury Corner but by the end of the performance the small but attentive audience had warmed to this curious tale and were having a great time.
After months adrift in a kid’s dinghy, protagonists Pete and Frank finally reach the mythical Monkey Island. Yet as in all good adventures they must overcome a number of challenges in their bid to fulfil their dream of starting a monkey farm. There’s a bizarre unfolding of events and encounters along the way with an exceptionally ugly mermaid, a pikey Jason (of Argonauts fame), a sexy temptress, a papier-mâché ogre and a madman ‘called Your Mum’ orchestrating the whole ordeal.
The cast – Jez Worsnip, Tom Webb, Max Webb and Yasmin Kerr – work hard with an interesting concept. The friendly audience (although some may have been friends) were willing to laugh even if the jokes were a bit hit and miss.
The play was written and directed by Tom Webb and there are some good knockabout performances. Max Webb particularly pulls off much of the comedy in a string of extraordinary disguises.
The highlight was the nerve-wracking game of Jenga, played with wooden blocks with some wonderful rapport between the actors – a moment that demonstrated Tom’s talent in natural comedy.
The show proves Webb is capable, with his particular brand of childlike comedy geared for adults, of great things to come.
The story concludes with a crazy dance contest, with examples of breakdancing, traditional Japanese and contemporary movement.
It all lasts only an hour long but it is a lot of fun. A thoroughly enjoyable evening out for those who like a bit of undemanding farce.

Until September 24
0207 704 2001

Sensual assault in uneasy forest

A FOREST - CAMDEN PEOPLE'S
By JANE WILD

FORESTS in fairytales are mysteriously magical places; dark and perplexing but generally involving a happy ending.
The forest of the Pacitti Company’s creation, however, is a fairytale for grown-ups who know that not everything leads to a sugary finale.
A Forest is an intimate performance, with the three actors, Robert Pacitti, Richard Eton and Sheila Ghelani storytellers who deliver short, fantastical, gripping tales.
Themes cover money, magic, desires, life and more. You are kept guessing by their unpredictability. The carefully worded ambiguity of the tales creates an uncertainty that unsettles.
With the accompanying scenes’ strong, uncompromising imagery, this sometimes veers on the edge of disturbing. The elderly gent next to me appeared to be quivering in apprehension.
The audience sit, séance-like, in a circle and thus cannot escape its impact and the uncomfortable questions it raises.
We are made part of the play before we sit down as you are asked to sign a contract beforehand and uncertainty about what follows starts there.
This is far from the only time you are drawn in, you are ambushed in each of your five senses throughout: each person is given a drink; a scent wafts round; a ribbon sewn with a message is slowly unwound from a neck and feeds around the circle.
It is your passive, helpless participation which hammers home the issues explored.
Essential too, is the original soundtrack, in weaving the darkness and magic.
Argentinean composer Sebastian Castagna creates the forest’s noises and for one section, some achingly poignant piano.
Certainly, like the Pacitti Company state, this is not easy theatre. But dramatic, urgent and intriguing, yes.

Until September 24
08700 600 100

Surreal success

WAX AND FEATHERS - ETCETERA
By REBECCA OMONIRA

ALTHOUGH it is inspired by Primo Levi’s fantastical short story The Great Mutation, Wax and Feathers stands bravely on its refreshing merits. It tells the story of a small Italian village enlivened by the event of a young girl growing wings.
The Etcetera Theatre seemed designed for the production. The tiny space brings the audience closer to Isabella’s growing anxiety as she ponders the significance of her wings, her father’s distress as he too reflects on his daughter’s condition and the disappointed village doctor, as he dreams of international medical recognition.
The play might have been too confined, however, with three characters and only two actors. But Clare Davies (Isabella Gandini) and Simon Spencer Hyde (Doctor Benetti and Mr Gandini) endear with honest, energetic performances.
Davies’ mime is gripping and raw as she shows Isabella’s body contorting in various efforts to accommodate her new wings. Each itch and stretch experienced by Isabella, Davies compliments with real emotion. Despite the bizarre nature of the play’s premise, her performance brings it down to earth, echoing a simple story of a young girl ‘coming of age’.
The play never feels too serious and it retains a strong sense of the “ridiculous, joyful and sorrowful” co-existing, with a determined undercurrent of humour. An entertaining and enjoyable theatrical experience.

Until September 25
020 7482 4857