'Picasso at the Lapin Agile' by Steve Martin
Directed by Naomi Claire Wallace

Reviewed by Jack Wanderman

I must confess to a fair degree of anxiety at a friend's summary of this play: Einstein and Picasso meet in a café in 1904. Hilarity, I speculated, was unlikely to ensue. So it is with both surprise and pleasure that I write 'Picasso at the Lapin Agile was actually entertaining'.

In this Steve Martin comedy with which Naomi Claire Wallace makes her directorial debut for KDC, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso hang out in their local Parisian café, discussing the impact they are to have on the 20th century. Throughout the evening, they are pursued by libidinous women (the artist more than the scientist, as ever), disturbed by an incontinent barfly and photographed by an insane art dealer. Along the way, they philosophise over the relative merits of art and science, drink freely and ultimately conclude that they are working towards the same goals. Oh, and Elvis time travels into the café, arriving through the toilets.

It's a play of contrasts: the artistic and the scientific, the realistic and the surrealistic, the natural and the stylised, the highbrow and the frivolous. For the most part, these clashes succeed in pulling us in; nothing in this piece ever runs the risk of stagnating as it gallops on, changing in style and pace.

Direction, then, is generally strong, although random attempts at symbolism are not greatly appreciated. I am sure, for example, that Picasso drinking coloured liquid while everyone else has water is intended to represent something or other. Sadly, in a fun piece such as this, it looks like either a rather half-arsed attempt at looking clever or an error by the Stage Manager.

We see a good ensemble performance. Nick Mouton's Freddy the barman was excellent, in turns slipping into the background and grabbing the audience's attention as necessary. Thomas Taggart performed well as a wonderfully sleazy, pretentious but still somehow lovable Picasso but his habit of whispering lines of great import was frustrating to say the least. KDC's new star Krysia Wiechecki gave a show-stealing performance as ever while Richard Williams delivered a textbook lesson in 'supporting role': do your bit, get the laughs but never undermine your fellow actors.

Playing Elvis Presley is never an easy task. Jonathan Rallings gets around this problem by going straight for the laughs; he's never going to convince us that he is actually The King appearing in 1904 Paris so he might as well entertain us. Monique McIntyre meanwhile, gives an outstanding performance, portraying two rampant admirers in as many minutes.

"I am a dreamer", writes Director Wallace in her programme notes. Her dream came true with this, a highly entertaining, uplifting and thought-provoking piece.