If you are in the mood for a somewhat different theatrical experience, then Belvoir’s B Sharp’s production ‘Thom Pain(based on nothing)’ by Will Eno directed by Sam Strong with a solo performance by Luke Mullins, could fit the bill.
This is a difficult show to describe. Here is the situation. Luke Mullins plays Thom Pain, an ordinary man who finds himself in front of a large, captive audience. Thom is a man who has given his life and experiences a great deal of thought, and he share these thoughts and feelings with his audience.
Pain does his shtick in a very cavalier, stream of consciousness style, skipping and jumping between anecdotes and thoughts during the sixty odd minutes of the show. He uses everything in his life as script material from the early childhood experiences being stung by bees to the electrocution of his dog to his experiences as a young man with an unhappy love affair.
What gives the show an especially quirky feel is that Pain loves being centre stage and directing traffic! Pain’s a palpable contradiction, at one time heartbreakingly sad, the next a bit of a buffoon. One minute we the audience are plunged into darkness, the next minute he puts on the house lights. One minute he gets someone from the audience up on stage, the next he has completely forgotten about him. There is this continuous going to and fro, swinging back and forth.
Luke Mullins gives an energised, engaging performance as Pain. The play would have been better served by a more experienced actor who could have given Eno’s deft writing more nuance and resonance.
Sam Strong’s production of ‘Thom Pain (based on nothing)’ plays downstairs at Belvoir Street until Sunday 16th August.
