Review: KING KONG (A COMEDY), The Vaults

The Vaults (under the arches of Waterloo Station) appears to be an unlikely location to re-create a movie that spends time on a tropical island and finishes, unforgettably, on top of the Empire State Building, but Daniel Clarkson has made the Potted format his own, and he's back with King Kong (A Comedy).

In 80 breathless minutes, we get an err... potted version of the 1933 King Kong, as director Carl Denham (Rob Crouch dressed like James Whale) travels to Skull Island to capture the giant ape and return it to New York. Along the way, there are plenty of sight gags (the ship's camp Captain (Sam Donnelly) on one leg - or is it two?); plenty of running gags (Token Guy (Brendan Murphy) escaping certain death over and over again); and a bit of panto too (Alix Dunmore's Fay Wray bewigged glamour gal being ignored by the boys despite having all the answers). Indeed, dopey Jack Driscoll (Ben Chamberlain) is something of a Buttons character amidst the chaos, lending a bit more to the panto vibe.

Stone cold sober on a hot Sunday afternoon, we were a toughish house for comedy and perhaps there was a bit more shouty, try-hard stuff than would be the case when the show settles into its run. As it stands, it works best in its more inventive moments, with excellent Bo' Selecta style puppets, strong mime work and an all too briefly glimpsed back projection. The famous closing scene is handled well too.

Rather like a panto, there's a bit of double entendres play that those under 12 might not get and those between 12 and 16 will smirk at, but nothing you wouldn't expect to see in a 12A movie. It's not quite a family show, but silly enough for kids.

The litmus test of a comedy is, as ever, the volume and quantity of laughs provoked and this production gets its fair quota, but not much more. Perhaps the pace is just too frenetic for the humour to stretch its legs (a few bars of "Rhapsody in Blue" and - exactly where you might expect it - Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", brought some welcome relief from the madcappery).

More than most formats, plays that aim for the funny bone need to fire a few arrows before hitting their mark and I expect this show to get funnier as its run progresses. And even if it doesn't, it's worth going for the pre-show music comprising solely monkey-based tracks!

King Kong (A Comedy) continues at The Vaults until 27 August.

Photo Geraint Lewis

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