Bottoms up
Last week in Liverpool’s theatre-land it seems it was all about bottoms.
And if you like a bit of nudity with your comedy you had the choice of “The Full Monty” at the Royal Court or “Bottoms Up” at the Actor’s Studio.
Having seen all Monty has to offer many times over on stage screen and lantern slide, we chose the latter.
Bottoms up is a brand new play written by Ryan Simons, who also directed it and played the part of the hapless John.
The format is very much that of a stereotypical situation comedy – revolving around the rocky marriage of John and Janine.
She is frustrated by their lack of money, possessions and social life, and he is frustrated by the fact that his wife’s breasts are seemingly fully occupied either in feeding their young baby or being firmly attached to the ubiquitous breast pump.
When Janine (played by Emma Ashton) invites a friend from art class to supper, John is none too pleased to discover that the smooth talking Malek (Barrie Ryan English) is not a fellow artist, but the art class life model.
The presumptuous Malek invites a “plus one” and this time it is Janine’s turn to be jealous when it turns out the blond bombshell Lily is a low-budget porn actress, played by Louis Molloy, who focusses her attentions on John.
Whilst predictable, the story unfolds in a highly entertaining way with plenty of gags and slapstick. All four cast members gave excellent performances and worked seamlessly together. The play was perfectly suited to the intimate setting of the Actor’s Studio, enhancing the “fly on the wall” perspective for the audience.
Bottom’s Up was the latest production by English Rice Productions at The Liverpool Actors Studio and I would highly recommend you keep an eye out for whatever they come up-with next.
