Pitchfork Disney at King's Head Theatre

I am still determined to see every production of a Philip Ridley play that I can so a revival of The Pitchfork Disney at King's Head Theatre was a no-brainer, despite (or because of) having seen it twice before, in Brighton in 2023 and Shoreditch Town Hall in 2017.

The King's Head Theatre has moved from above a pub to far below a new mixed-use development nearby and that has had an impact on ticket prices so my seat C21 was £42. That's not actually that much for theatre these days but my price expectations are sill somewhat set (unreasonably) by pre-covid pub theatre prices.

My keenness meant that I was quick to book and got a seat in the centre of the main seating with a perfect view of the stage.

All the action takes place in this messy sitting room with its many door locks.

Here we meet the odd twenty-something twins Presley and Haley. They argue over chocolate and medicine and tell each other exaggerated stories about being chased by dogs and being in a dark wasteland. These are stories they have told each other many times, just like one repeats stories to young children.

These stories are also typical Ridley monologues and so have their own value despite not being directly related to the main story.

Then they see two people outside, one of whom leaves, and after some argument they allow the other one in. That is Cosmo Disney and everything changes. Cosmo is a loud force of purpose and certainty which the meek and subdued twins can do little to contain.

The tone changes from retelling favourite stories to a barrage of questions as Cosmo tries to work out what is going on with the twins and they struggle to find out something about Cosmo. This is where the cockroaches in the poster come in. Here Cosmo's swagger dominates the play and William Robinson's acting is relentlessly powerful, questioning and in command. Cosmo has to carry the play and with William Robinson it does so assuredly.

The final short section introduced the other man seen outside, Pitchfork, who is monstrous in appearance and sound. While the Cosmo character is recognisable, if exaggerated, there are no similes for Pitchfork in real life.

It is a short sharp shock that bring the play to a magnificent conclusion.

The Pitchfork Disney at King's Head Theatre was an excellent production of an excellent play.

Incident At Vichy at King's Head Theatre

I fancied Incident At Vichy because it is by Arthur Miller and I was also keen to go to King's Head Theatre which I had somehow not managed to do previously, despite working within easy walking distance for a while.

I was feeling generous and pushed the boat out a little and went for a Premium seat, C8; this cost £25 which is heading towards pricey for a pub theatre. I would not have minded that if the premium seat was good but the first few rows were at the same height so I has two rows of people in front of me. None of them was ridiculously tall or wide but my view was impacted. The view I had was something like the picture above but with some heads in the way.

The evening had not started that well either. The unusual 7pm start meant something of a mad dash from Teddington which left no time for food beforehand. The pub foresaw this and did not provide any anyway. They did provide some reasonable though and while it took a little queueing to get some the first pint went down in under five minutes and I took a second in with me.

Incident At Vichy was a procession of men waiting to be called in for nationality checks by the Nazis. These checks apparently consisted of examining papers and foreskins and took place in a consulting room off to the right. This was in the early 1940s when the Vichy Regime was the nominal government of France while the Nazis occupied the north of the country.

As the men waited they talked. Some were sure that everything would be fine, others were worried about their papers and others shared stories of what they had heard happened to those who failed the tests. In one, of many telling exchanges one man said that it did not make economic sense for the Nazis to kill so many people when they needed workers and another commented that was exactly the sort of remark that a Jew would be expected to make.

As with other war plays I had seen recently the othering of Jews, Gypsies and gays etc. had uncomfortable resonances with current times where blame for woes was laid at the doors of Muslims, Remoaners and Fake News Media. We seem determined not to learn those lessons.

Incident At Vichy was tense but it was also illuminating and stimulating thanks largely to the simplicity of the production that let the characters do all the work and to the strong cast that made all of those characters realistic and interesting.