Big Shot – London Irish Centre

Big Shot at the London Irish Centre as part of the Camden Fringe 2016.

Star rating: two stars ★ ★ ✩ ✩ ✩

In a theatrical age of jukebox, revival and adaptation, it’s always a relief to see original musicals being developed, and the prospect of an internationally award-winning premiere of Lauryn Gaffney’s Irish musical Big Shot arriving in the capital is an exciting one. Unfortunately, despite its overseas accolades, this show really isn’t delivering the calibre necessary to light the way.

Set in New York, the plot centres around a love triangle between Jade Young’s Carrie (otherwise known as ‘The Irish Girl’), a struggling artist working at the local coffee shop; Donal Brennan’s Jeremy Crocker (the Big-Shot-Lawyer, and only one of the characters to be credited with a second name); and Gavin McDermott’s Hank, the mafioso crook. If the characters sound a little generic, it’s because they are. The story is one of inevitable tragedy, as Crocker falls for Carrie, but discovers himself to be representing her fiancé Hank in a murder case – all leading to a critical decision between duty and love.

One of the great downfalls of this piece is the book. Exposition is far too demonstrative – characters are explained rather than actioned, and adhere so firmly to their archetypes that they dissolve under any closer inspection. There are so many thematic layers not touched upon that could have emerged from the plot: life as an Irish immigrant in America, the flaws of its judicial system and those working within it, emotional abuse and manipulation (the list goes on), but sadly the plot is trapped within flippancy and we end up with what feels like a bad 1990s rom-com.

Cast members deliver earnest performances and demonstrate some great vocals, but they lack direction and development, hampered by a script which is bewilderingly quick-paced to begin with, lags later on, and is at times comically dated.

Viv, for example (Niamh Chambers, with an undeniably gorgeous voice but slightly self-aware stage presence) is continuously mistreated by her beau Frankie (Sean McMahon), a playboy looking for a mother-substsitute, but she forgives him all when he presents her with a diamond engagement ring and little hope of demonstrable change in character. It’s 2016 – the fact that this is presented as a positive moment gives you some idea of how out-of-touch the narrative is.

Much more can be said, however, for Gaffney’s score which is clearly the most developed element of the show. Though the plot is not always clear, the music is consistently engaging, vocals are strong and there are some lovely reflective ballads (Young and Brennan in particular demonstrating some decent turmoil in numbers such as ‘What’s a Man to Do?’ and ‘Carrie’s Song’). However, the less said about Act II’s caffeine-based opener, the better.

The question that it always comes down to when developing work of this kind is: “Why does this story need to be told?” So far, the show hasn’t managed to answer that question, and the key to unlocking its potential surely lies in a complete overhaul of the script, and certainly on behalf of the London Irish Centre, some more culturally challenging dialogue. Still, it is not impossible to imagine that with a great deal of work, this production and company could become something much more impressive.

Aura Simon

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