The Stripper – St James Studio

Sebastien Torkia in The Stripper at St James Theatre, London. Picture: Roy Tan

The Stripper continues at the St James Studio, London until 13 August 2016.

Rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

With The Rocky Horror Show, writing creators Richard Hartley (music) and Richard O’Brien (lyrics) paid homage to the cinema world of double features and tacky Gothic B-movies. The show took on a cult following, especially with university campuses, after it was filmed. It developed into a two-way show – the audience becoming participants, creating rituals and abusing the characters.

In their latest piece, Hartley and O’Brien look to the genres of pulp fiction and film noir for inspiration. The book has been adapted from Carter Brown’s 1959 novel of the same name and centres round Lieutenant Al Wheeler, a Californian detective who thinks that a suicide might not be as straightforward as everyone else wants it to be. He is led into the sleazy underworld of strip-joints and dating agencies for lonely hearts, populated by bizarre grotesques and oddball characters.

Director Benji Sperring takes up the audience participation idea and has the St James Studio turned into a nightclub – Club Extravaganza – with a raised acting area behind which many of the rapid costume changes slickly take place.

The audience is treated as the club’s patrons, even to the extent of some of them being frisked for weapons before being shown to their seats. There is also interaction with them from Lt Wheeler as he narrates his story. The action freezes as a spotlight picks him out each time he addresses the audience. He also moves amongst them, getting ladies to hold his props or to flirt with them.

Sebastien Torkia is excellent as Wheeler, a moral cop out for justice but enjoying an immoral private life. He reflects all the qualities and characteristics from his screen predecessors with his tongue firmly in his cheek. He gets to deliver the deliciously wicked ‘Man of Steel’ and a lively ‘There’s Many a True Word Said in Bed’.

As ‘Deadpan’ Dolores Keller – the stripper who says it all from the neck down – Gloria Onitiri gets to strut her stuff in ‘The Strip’ and performs two of the show’s most powerful songs –‘The Lonely Are Legend’ and ‘Planning My Big Exit’. Both are strong soul numbers which Onitiri’s voice does full justice to. She also doubles as Cousin Patty.

Hannah Grover’s sense of comedy allows her to gloriously revel in switching from the austere uptight Sarah Arkwright to Southern belle Annabelle, via a superb over the top Sherry Mendez. This Latin firecracker shakes up the room when she announces that ‘In The Night All Cats Are Brown’ – great fun.

Equally at home with comic timing and rapid character changes are Marc Pickering and Michael Steedon. Pickering camps it up as Harvey Stern, a florist that is not as sweet as his flowers. His big number, ‘Hearts and Flowers’, allows him to pull out all the stops. He also makes a sinister nightclub owner and the vote-seeking Sheriff Lavers. Steedon’s roles include Jacob Arkwright, a grotesque that would not have looked out of place in The Rocky Horror Show.

The music is a mixture of styles played under the direction of Alex Beetschen (sadly his fine musicians are not named in the programme) and often has the audience clicking their fingers or swaying to the rhythms.

Special mention must given to Nic Farman’s skilful lighting and to movement director Lucie Pankhurst’s compact choreography.

If one must be picky then it would be fair comment to say that the show is a tad too long – a bit of cutting needs to be made and there are a couple of occasions when the pace dips.

However, The Stripper is tremendous fun. Whether it too attracts a cult following, only time will tell.

Barrie Jerram

Tickets for The Stripper are available HERE.