Review: DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY, Riverside Studios
Photo credit: Teddy Cavendish
Keelan Kember’s new comedy is a semi-farcical take on the world of art trading, and how the world of “new money” has shaped how we value art, how it can be used more as currency than creation for its own sake. It’s a snappy hour-and-a-bit of Wildean wit and jabbing stereotypes that makes for an enjoyable evening of easy comedy.
The stage is set in blinding white, and stays that way for the duration. Eleanour Wintour’s design draws the eye to the literally and figuratively colourful characters that occupy the play. Christopher (played by Kember himself) is your typical posh Brit, struggling to remain polite in the face of increasingly elevated stakes. He and his endlessly professional colleague Milly (Arsema Thomas) are attempting to sell a newly-discovered Da Vinci for a ridiculous sum of money, on behalf of its owner, a dubious Russian oligarch (John Albasiny). When it becomes apparent that the painting is a fake, they must contend with the overzealous all-American Tony (Steve Zissis) who is trying to buy it on behalf of a Middle-Eastern prince (Fayez Bakhsh). Things get hairy when these two symbols of Eastern power try to out-threaten each other when the painting’s authenticity is questioned, with Christopher and Milly caught in the middle of their power struggle.
Da Vinci’s Laundry is a play aware of its out-of-time nature. It’s populated with jabs at nationality, the old world versus the new, and the culture difference between those buying the art and those selling it. Its inventive lighting design by Jack Hathaway jolts the audience back into the momentum of the story after long scenes of just dialogue, and its pace and stakes support the show through some occasionally dated cultural humour.
Merle Wheldon’s direction shines in scenes where expression and blocking make or break the punchline. The stage never feels empty or bland despite its blankness, and the performers rally the lines back and forth with an ease that immediately settles the audience in for a show that’s to be enjoyed rather than scrutinised. The cast shine individually, and every scene is full of a buffet of background reactions to the often ludicrous dialogue.
The play seems to have more to say about how posturing and peacocking can get you in over your head alarmingly fast, than about art itself. We never see the Da Vinci, and do we need to? Art is the premise, the stage, and the character interactions buoy a play otherwise muddled in its stance on art forgery. Is the painting a fake? Does it matter when it comes to blows, and when we all had a laugh along the way?
A fun, frisky, and well-constructed frolic through the upper-echelons of the art world.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Oli Burgin
Da Vinci’s Laundry plays at London’s Riverside Studios until 25 October, with further info here.
