Review: THE CODE, Southwark Playhouse (Elephant)

Danny Kaan

In Michael McKeever’s The Code we are taken back to the Golden age of Hollywood, as we join former movie star Billy Haines at home with his best friend Tallulah Bankhead.

The play explores the lengths people will go to for fame, and the unwritten rules in place which allow for exploitation and control. With a cast of just four the Southwark Playhouse Elephant is the perfect intimate venue for this play as it fosters a real fly on the wall feel.

Tracie Bennett and John Partridge barely leave the stage throughout. Their chemistry as Hollywood besties is authentic and fun, their dynamic is great to watch, as they bounce off one another. Bennett is phenomenal in her role as the Hollywood starlet. She is brash, bolshy and confident in her skin, delivering her lines with a sarcastic flair. Partridge is steadfast and stoic as Billy, the calm to Tallulah’s chaos.

The arrival of accomplished agent Henry Willson and his Protégé Chad, changes the direction of the play as we see the Hollywood façade peeled back to reveal the unsavoury reality of fame and the sacrifices which are expected in order to reach the top.

Nick Blakely is entirely convincing as the unsavoury Willson, and Solomon Davy brings a realistic naïveté and vulnerability to his role. This stellar cast deliver the quick witted writing with both humour and intensity and are able to balance the two with apparent ease.

With many of the play’s themes remaining relevant today, The Code is a tale of human connection and the value we place on authenticity. It challenges us to consider how we measure success, and the price of achieving it.

The Code is a fascinating insight into the censored side of Hollywood, and a reminder that all is not always as it seems.

***** Five Stars

Reviewed by Cara Brazier

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