Review of 'King Kong Comedy'

http://www.kingkongcomedy.com/

A tremendously fun show that never takes itself very seriously.

“King Kong Comedy” is a spoof of the King Kong story told from the perspective of Carl Denham (Rob Crouch), the wannabee director of a film based on Skull Island, home to the giant ape King Kong. The play has the feeling of a typical Edinburgh Fringe show with the slapstick as well as tongue-in-cheek childlike humour throughout such as the presence of “Token Guy” who seems destined to be killed off throughout yet always manages to come back shouting “I'm OK!”. You have to know it is going to be silly when the first scene where Denham is talking to the captain of the boat who seems to be unsure which of his legs was lost but has a long story to explain how, despite many sharp objects being involved, he loses it when he simply goes to sleep. The intentionally awful New York accents just add to the silliness throughout.

The four-tiered set is central here (literally and figuratively) as the talented (and very busy) cast use various props to tell the story including brilliantly designed puppetry. The producers turn the now traditional story on it's head in a number of ways including making Ann Darrow (Alix Dunmore) a far more independent woman who often saves the day for her oblivious cohorts.

It takes a while for the show to get going with a number of long, initial digressions including quite some time with Denham attempting to explain to a flamboyant New York agent that he wants a GIRL for the trip not a “gull” nor a man called “Gil”. But once they head out to Skull Island the pace picks up quickly and things come to a conclusion very shortly thereafter.

Our audience filled about 3/4 of the auditorium and took a while to warm up to the show but towards the end the laughs were everywhere. A good time was had by all. Really funny and very, very silly yet very well performed with incredibly imaginative staging and sets – I really enjoyed it.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2017-08-03

Location: London (England)

Address: Launcelot Street, London SE1 7NN ENGLAND

Public Transport: Waterloo Waterloo

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7401 9603

URL: https://www.thevaults.london/

A bit tricky to find, the Vaults is located on side street on the far side (south) of Waterloo station a few streets over from the Old Vic. A trendy place it literally is under the train vaults and you can hear trains passing overhead all the time while inside. The interior is amazingly decorated with toilets as well as a bar. Really funky.