Little Town Blue at Camden People’s Theatre Review
Written by Jasmine for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All views are our own
Little Town Blue is, I think, the perfect example of why America needs pantomime; there’s so much fun to be had when you can undermine their, obviously, bleak politics by poking a bit of fun, very, very silly fun. Red Biscuit brings the irony and physical comedy of British panto, Monty Python, Hot Fuzz, and the like to an imagined American town that’s as ‘U.S.A!’ as it gets in their new production.
In Little Town Blue, there’s something up with the water; a corrupt government aren’t going to fix it, and the people of the town don’t seem to mind drinking the kool-aid (or in this case, ‘Flint Water’). In fact, the only person who seems to actually really want to escape is a hilarious British stereotype character fleeing the town who is, of course, far too distractingly British for the American lads at the centre of the show to pay any attention to what they actually say.
So, the three teenage boys on their post-high-school road trip drive obliviously into the mysterious Little Town Blue, full of kooky characters and mystery. Playing on every trope about the US, small town mysteries, teen comedies, action movies, and corruption they can get their hands on, the performers from Red Biscuit create a laugh-a-minute hour of comedy.
That was my main takeaway from the show; it’s just so much fun. The audience were laughing throughout, it was rarely quiet for more than a minute, and you could see the performers were always trying to make each other giggle too. These were the best moments - so much of the energy on stage comes from how much the actors themselves were enjoying the jokes, how willing they were to lean into them further, to crack each other up. It’s an element of the show that could be pushed even further, especially in how the comedy interacts with the tech. Elements of how the jokes responded to the sound/lighting reminded me of the sort of comedy you see in ‘Stamp Town’ where the tech team actively mess with/create the comedy with the performer onstage. In this case, one of my favourite moments was Mayor Flint being undermined by the organist playing for his dramatic entrance - I’d love to see even more moments like it.
I also loved how they created the town onstage - the details of the signs pointing to all the locations we’d go to through the show, the mayor’s banner (which you may find a real mayor behind, in a really excellent preset) - they did a great job bringing to life a show with a million settings without having to change the set at all.
Little Town Blue makes for a great night out, and you’ll never get bored with the speed these guys can make it through a plot - not once did they lose me or leave me confused - even as they switched through a long line of characters and settings. In fact, some of the funniest bits were when they leant into the challenge of having lots of characters and only a few actors - I loved the silly stand ins they created.
As they continue to perform this show, I’ve no doubt it’s only going to keep getting better - so go catch it at CPT on their last night on the 25th April or at Brighton Fringe. You won’t regret it - unless you drink the Flint water.
★ ★ ★ ★
