How Do The Angels Sleep?

9.30 PM, Corpus Playroom, April 22nd-26th, £6/5.

In the opening to “Where Did the Angels Sleep”, a man sits on a box wearing a fedora, hands bloodstained and clasping a whiskey bottle, and tells us that everything is just fine, that things are always fine, and then they might be boring, which ‘isn’t fine’, and then they’re fine again. And I thought – I bet that’s how I’ll end up describing this play.

To its credit, it was never boring. It was often inexplicable and bizarre, often very funny, but mostly it was just fine.  Jack (Justin Wells) and Vinno (Robbie Aird), two film noir-style gangsters, have just committed an unspecified crime, centred around the box in the middle of the stage. Aird’s manic coke-fuelled intensity is compelling and watchable, and plays off very well against Wells’ much more placid, muted, but ultimately psychotic alcoholic, despite the latter’s American accent being occasionally shaky. There are some great uses of props – Vinno continually combs his hair with a plastic fork, and the dead prostitute’s red shoe is purposefully eye-catching. I personally find the decision to have characters fail to light cigarettes throughout the play (presumably to deal with a fire ban) irritating – but I am aware that this could be nit-picking to an unfair degree, and actually both actors committed to this in a way that typified their characters and gave them more to do than drink and snort coke.

I’m always a little suspicious of new writing, but this was for the most part very tightly written; aside from a couple of self-indulgent metaphors, the dialogue was mostly sharp and well delivered by the sparring actors.  The revelation of what’s inside the box and the twist which shortly followed were indeed surprising, but ultimately confusing, and this was not helped by the appearance of the final character (whose costume was unfortunately reminiscent of a stripper. Perhaps he was actually meant to be one.  It was that sort of play).

Essentially, I enjoyed this production, which at forty-five minutes will not take much out of your evening. It had faults, yes, and I would not necessarily tell you to rush to see it, but if you’re passing, or you were going anyway, then you might as well. It was fun, occasionally funny and for the most part well acted and directed. In fact, one might say it was fine.