Hard to believe that the first idea for Bouncers was a product of John Godber’s fertile imagination way back in 1977. This version had only a couple of characters and when it debuted at the Edinburgh fringe it attracted an audience of just two paying members.
Over the years, the cast has doubled and theatres have experienced sell-out nights as theatregoers have flocked to see a worldwide award-winning slice of social history that tells the tale of a time when women were lasses and men were blokes and the highlight of the week was a weekend night at the local nightclub – or disco if you were slightly more mature.
Bouncers is the story of the four doormen whose word was law. If they didn’t like the look of you, then you were turned away. I’m sure we have all got to the entrance of a club only to be met with the words “Sorry, sir. Members Only” or “Special night. Thirty-five pounds entry” and have another weekend ruined as there was nowhere else to go.
The cast of four play these doormen. Lucky Eric (Frazer Hammill) is the leader of the group but his status is being challenged by Judd (Lamin Touray) with the pair of them clashing like stags at a rut. Their colleagues are Les (George Reid) and Ralph (Tom Whittaker) and they are excellent as a group who all have their different reasons for being professional doormen. Eric is the more wistful of them and he has four solo spots in which he describes his feelings – bittersweet in that the club has provided his livelihood but also caused the downfall of his marriage but also caring as he talks of the young women he has seen abused.
But the cast members are not allowed to get away that lightly as they portray every other character who appears in the play. These include a group of four lads and another group of four girls who we follow on their big night from the rituals of getting dressed and getting tanked up on cheap beer before arriving at Mr Cinders.
Once through the doors, we see a parody of club life at its worst – the sleazy DJ who does his utmost to get the girls to bare all, the horrors of the gents’ toilet after midnight and the desperation of the last dance as the lads try to pick up a girl even though by that time the best have gone. Then the realisation of how much the evening has cost
The actors are very believable as they take on the different roles and use another brilliant Godber script to perfection. There is clear evidence of his powers of observation that not only provide raucous laughter but also give moments of poignancy and reflection.
The opening night saw the New Vic packed to the rafters and the auditorium was rocking with laughter throughout – none more so than during the scene when the bouncers were winding down with some free beer and a blue movie at their shift’s end. The perils of using a cine projector produced spontaneous applause as the action drew to a close.
That applause was more than echoed at the end of the play as the cast drew a standing ovation that was richly deserved. A piece of theatre that rolled the years back with bawdy humour and observational acting all interlaced with the dance music of the 80s. Couldn’t be better.
The production continues until April 1st and has a running time of 1 hour 50 minutes including interval. So get your glad rags on, sprinkle the talc down your pants and get to the theatre. If you have a ticket then you will be on the list. But don’t be late or the best will be gone – seats I mean!!!
