Those who have been a part of the Rhys Reviews cinematic universe for a little while will be aware that, a few months ago, we headed to the wonderful Bread and Roses Theatre in London to see the fantastic Unlucky Me (which you can read our review of here). So, when it was announced that the show would be returning to the same stage, I knew it was time for yet another London adventure! On top of being a good excuse to make the journey to The Big Smoke, this trip had an even more special meaning behind it. I have been asked repeatedly recently why I got into reviewing, and the answer has always been the same: I wanted to create a place where I could highlight and celebrate the fantastic work being produced in the theatre industry. From insanely high-budget professional touring productions to local amateur dramatics, for me, it is all about shouting out the hard work and talent that goes into putting on a show. With all this in mind, I personally think there is no greater joy in this world than seeing a show develop and go from strength to strength. So, it was an absolute pleasure to see Unlucky Me again and see how much it has grown in the past couple of months!
If you haven’t read the aforementioned review of the show from March, Unlucky Me follows the life of Lucky Finn, who deals with a series of unfortunate events (most notably the murder of his own brother) after getting involved with a harrowing County Lines exploitation ring, as well as his attempt to find a way out of these terrible circumstances. In this production, the lead character Lucky was brought to life by the fantastic Jon Hennah, who really leaned into the more innocent and plucky side of the character in the earlier parts of the show. Jon manages to perfectly capture the beaten-down aspects of the character (which anyone would be after the death of their brother), which not only makes sense in terms of everything he has been through but also helped to amplify the character journey throughout the show, from this mild and down-beaten victim to someone taking control of the situation by the end of the show. One of the most entertaining performances in this production was the amazing Harry Lineham, who pulled double duty as both the ghost of the murdered Toby and the extremely friendly John, which is very impressive in its own right! As Toby, Harry was totally immersed in the character from the very moment they stepped onto the stage and was visibly reacting to everything that was happening around the character, which helped the audience easily follow along with what was happening. There was no moment that proved this more than the sequence in which the two brothers metaphorically travel back in time to when Lucky met his partner in the club. In this scene, Toby has made a name for himself for being extremely entertaining and somewhat annoying in the club, and he heads over to the bar to get a drink. Harry was visibly seen interacting with the imaginary people inside this club, which showed how invested he was in portraying this moment. This was particularly important considering there was no scene change or props to make this location change clear, but Harry’s over-the-top acting helped transport the audience into this scene. As the friendly neighbour John, Harry was purposefully more approachable and supportive towards the other characters in the show. In an almost total contrast to Toby, there is a scene in which Lucky’s partner is fleeing from the evil Dominic when she runs into John on the street as the latter attempts to help. This portrayal was so wonderfully awkward and helpless (which made total sense, as he is just an everyday neighbour), and it injected a little bit of humour into this highly intense sequence of events.
Taking on the role of the villainous leader of the exploitation ring, Dominic, was the creator of the show itself, Kym Nash (who I was actually ‘lucky’ enough to chat to on my YouTube channel, which you can watch here). On top of writing the show itself and starring in this production, Kym has also completed the impressive accolade of having performed every single male character in the show. I would find it overwhelming having to cover just one role, but Kym has been able to flawlessly switch between the characters, which is incredible. The last time I saw this show, Kym was taking on the role of the chaotic Toby, so I was very excited to see how he would capture the much more devilish and cruel character in this iteration of the show. Kym went for a much more over-the-top version of Dominic, with an almost pantomime-villain-inspired slant, complete with a classic maniacal laugh when he walked off the stage. Despite this, however, the audience were instantly on the edge of their seats every time this character took to the stage to see what sort of devilish antics he would get up to next. My favourite character in this iteration of the show, however, was the wonderful Sophie Jones, captured flawlessly by the fantastic Daisy Potton, who herself is also being manipulated by the villainous Dominic. In my first time watching this production, the character of Sophie was great, but I personally left the theatre thinking that there needed to be a much more embedded character arc to make her eventual turn on her boss in the closing moments of the show even more impactful. Clearly, the team working on this show agreed with this sentiment, as they really developed the role and gave her opportunities to show how she ended up as a key figure in this criminal enterprise.
At one point in the show, Sophie delivers a powerful monologue directly to the audience (under the glare of a wonderfully placed spotlight), where she talks about being rescued from homelessness by Dominic. This is obviously hyper-realistic, as this is a genuine strategy used by criminal groups, in particular County Lines groups, in real life. This ‘saving’ of vulnerable people gives the criminals an upper hand over those they are exploiting, as they have done them a favour. This addition to the character not only makes sense from a real-world perspective but also made sense narratively, as it creates this loyalty between Sophie and Dominic, again making the eventual turn even more powerful. One of the most powerful scenes in the entire show saw Sophie go undercover to lure Lucky’s partner into Dominic’s warehouse. Presenting herself as talkative and friendly, Sophie persuades the partner to come with her under the guise of wanting a haircut, only to reveal that this was a ruse. As Sophie turned to walk her target off stage, she looked directly at the audience as her face dropped from this friendly and approachable performance into a much more wicked and cruel look that the other performer would not have seen. This made sense narratively, as the entire scene is Sophie going undercover with wicked intentions, but it also showed how talented an actor Daisy truly is!
Overall, this version of Unlucky Me was the intense and gripping story I have come to love, with clear progression from the first iteration I saw. The addition of the spotlight monologues and deeper-developed characters allowed the audience to effortlessly follow along with the story, which is a fundamental purpose of any show. Similarly to the first iteration, the closing moments of the show were incredibly gripping, with audible gasps from the audience when things started to go wrong. The show was clearly developed in such a short time, and I cannot wait to see what it is like given even more time to grow!I would rate this show 4.5 stars out of 5!
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