Life With Oscar, Arcola Theatre Review
Life with Oscar production image. Photo by G TaylorWritten by Bronagh
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Content warnings: swearing, drug references, sexual references, suicide references, adult themes.
Life of Oscar is the story of Nick Cohen’s dark dalliance with the United States as he tries – and fails – to obtain the most coveted award of all. An Oscar. Based on Nick’s ‘Hollywood Years’, Life with Oscar is energetic, frantic and overall a very enjoyable show.
As we enter the Arcola Theatre – ten minutes late due to ‘technical difficulties’ – we are greeted by Nick himself who refers to the audience as ‘nominees’ and asking when Ryan and Margot will be arriving. The set is made up of a small projector screen, a chair, some sort of ornament and of course, the golden statue itself. One niggle for me straight away was the positioning of the projector screen, which would likely have been difficult to view by people sitting in the far corners of the room. The audience are all settled, and Nick begins his one man show. He reminds us that this is a true story, he won’t name names but assures us that nearly everything he says is verbatim. Nick names Jude Law and Rachel Weisz, who he actually did study alongside according to IMDB, and it was quite interesting trying to guess who other characters may have been.
Performing a one man show is no mean feat, and I thought Nick did a great job. He bounces between twenty-nine characters, ranging from his family, dodgy producers and their even dodgier drug taking daughters and beyond. Nick is very physical, explosively spinning (literally) between characters. Managing to jump from character to character is very impressive, however, I did note at times it was tricky to differentiate between who was who at times. This was not a huge stumbling block for me, and I soon got back in the swing of things remembering that this is one person performing and not a robot. Regardless, Nick managed to transport us from Edgware Road to Hollywood seamlessly despite the bumps and barriers along the way.
The story itself was good. Not groundbreaking, nothing completely new but it was good. I’m sure most of us have seen shows, read books or seen films about creatives just not quite making it. However, the personal elements made Life with Oscar by offering an insight into a real life person who has had these real life experiences. So maybe this isn’t a brand new, wholly original, never seen before idea but it translated onto stage well and into an enjoyable watch when written by someone who had these experiences himself. I felt immersed in Life with Oscar from beginning to end.
As an performer, Nick Cohen really can hold an audience and command the room. He is dynamic, full of energy, yet not afraid to let his guard down. We end the show by watching a clip of ‘Lifesaver’, the short film that Nick was so desperate to win an Oscar for. He had even considered Margot Robbie for a role. However, I felt the ending was slightly abrupt when it could have been something really quite special.
Overall, I really enjoyed Life with Oscar. From learning the history of the award itself, to feeling transported to the lows of Hollywood, to feeling frustrated on Nick’s behalf, a lot was covered in little over an hour. I would only tweak the ending if it were up to me, but otherwise I thought this to be a brilliant show performed by a brilliant performer. It may not be on the big screens, but performing at the Arcola is something to be hugely proud of too.
At The Arcola Theatre until 20th April 2024.
★★★★
