At Sgript Cymru |
| Sgript Cymru- Life of Ryan...and Ronnie , Weston Studio Wales Millennium Centre , October 15, 2005 |
| “a play about two of the best-loved entertainers Wales has ever seen.” Two unique and hilarious comedy entertainers who had become the toast of Wales, were making inroads into UK TV, on the very verge of the ‘big ’time’ when their careers were brought tragically to a close by Ryan Davies’ early death. Aled Pugh, with his ‘look-a-like’ hair do captures the innocence and simplicity and a touch of the very daftness of the on-stage Ryan who tells us, in the play, that comedy is a very serious business and this is a very serious play. In contrast to Ryan’s desperate pursuit of professionalism, Kai Owen presents Ronnie Williams as a much more laid back, almost an uncaring personality. He comes across as the much more complex personality of the two. For most of the play there seems to be a sharp and bitter atmosphere between them but what writer Meic Povey succeeds in doing so well is to bring out the underlying respect and fondness they had for one another which in the play is never actually articulated. Much of their banter takes place in seedy night-club dressing rooms; simply realised by Max Jones’ clean cut single unit set that gives us the stage on which the duo go through their comedy paces, back-stage and the low lit tables of Caerphilly’s Double Diamond Club. At one of the tables Ronnie reflects on his problem with alcohol, the heavy demands of their frantic comedy schedule and, it seems, whether it’s all worth it. Ryan relishes the taste of success and possesses an overwhelming drive to develop his art. The fact that many of us will be able to recall Ryan and Ronnie as Welsh comedy icons and as working professionals and although Meic Povey’s script comes directly from his close knowledge of them, the theme of the play is much broader. We all derive a great benefit from laughter and owe a debt of gratitude to the laughter makers. It’s easy to imagine that life for such people might be a bed of roses. The fact that the story of the clown laughing on the outside but crying on the inside is now a very familiar one does not make it any the less poignant when it’s revealed in this way. Ryan was constantly fighting against illness and Ronnie against alcohol and there were always families back at home to think about. Show business is a very demanding mistress. Whether or not she ruined or made these boys’ lives is a question the play raises but inevitably must remain unanswered. A fascinating study that should have made a very challenging and captivating piece of theatre but this time, quite uncharacteristically, director Simon Harris doesn’t quite bring it off. A play only starts when the script is completed. Theatre is a very transient and co-operative art. Sgript Cymru have brought a fine group of proven and experienced professionals to address the challenges. Whilst the play does progress a little slowly and despite the energy in the acting, inertia more than pleasure results from the consummation of the production. The acting is very good indeed but maybe the script doesn’t delve deep enough into their personalities and their motivations to give them sufficient matter of consequence to express. I don’t think Ronnie Williams was as dull as he is painted here but acting the part of a dull man on stage is a very difficult challenge and it’s easy to fall into the trap of actually being dull and Kai Owen some times does skate near this dilemma. We didn’t see quite enough of the great successful comedy that these two produced; that would have provided a much stronger contrast to the down sides of their lives. When he did give us a flash of comedy routine Aled Pugh could not quite catch the wicked sparkle that Ryan always had in his eye on and often off stage. If Harris can put the sparkle back into his play he may have a winner. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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