Review: Cured at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre
Feeling a bit under the weather from a lack of laughter? Don’t worry – Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre has just what the doctor ordered.
Acutely short of compassion? There’s a remedy for that too.
The Royal Court is currently dispensing the perfect tonic with Cured, a brand-new comedy about a group of Scousers with disabilities heading off on a boozy – sorry, healing – trip to Lourdes.
Penned by local writer and comedian Laurence Clark, Cured cleverly weaves hilarious comedy with some very serious issues. The play openly embraces the sensitive subjects of physical and mental disability, while also taking a well-aimed pop at a system that often fails them.
At the heart of it all is the way Clark’s script pitches reality against religion, and compassion against hypocrisy.
Of course, a good script needs a good cast, and without exception this talented ensemble – many of them performers with real-life disabilities – shines.
Stephen Smith-Taylor’s portrayal of Connor, a man with cerebral palsy who uses a speech-generating wheelchair, is nothing short of brilliant. Funny, touching and beautifully observed, it is a performance that lingers long after the curtain comes down.
There are several genuinely poignant moments, but for the most part Cured delivers a torrent of hilarious one-liners, sharp exchanges and gloriously chaotic comic situations that keep the audience laughing throughout. In fact, the action is so slick and fast-moving that, at times, you almost stop noticing the wheelchairs and crutches altogether – which, I suspect, is very much the point. In fact Sophia Adzoa-Moore, who plays Helen, learned how to dance and perform on crutches from when she was a young teenager.
Sex, booze and rock ’n’ roll are all very much in evidence, not least through guitar-wielding, newly ordained Father Luke (Oliver Mawdsley), who clearly still has one foot planted firmly in his rock band past. Love, too, is on the cards, as Rose, played by Maisy Gordon, helps to “cure” Connor, played by Reese Pantry, of his virginity.
Needless to say, the healing trip soon descends into chaos, much to the disdain of its organiser, Sister Mary, played with wonderful exasperation by Pauline Daniels.
One of the most impressive aspects of the production is the way Audio Description and British Sign Language interpretation are not simply added for one special performance, but integrated into the show itself throughout the entire run. Julie Mac combines her role as God with being narrator and audio describer, while Naomi Gray plays Saint Bernadette and signs throughout — hilariously coping with the sexual innuendo, four-letter expletives and general mayhem along the way.
Cured just makes it into the five-star category for me. Although it is something of a departure from the usual Royal Court style of comedy, it sits very comfortably in the theatre’s schedule. It is highly entertaining, genuinely thought-provoking, and deals with a delicate subject without ever becoming patronising.
In my opinion, it deserved a much longer run than its rather paltry couple of weeks.
A funny, fearless and surprisingly moving night out. Get your tickets from the Box Office now – before it’s too late.
