It will make you chuckle and it will also make you think - Rattle of a Simple Man, now playing at the Shambles Theatre, is an exploration of what happens when the lives of two essentially lonely people intersect.
Simone Walker, a talented newcomer to the Shambles stage, plays Cyrenne, a Soho
call-girl, who invents a fantasy background to shield her from her shabby existence.
Walker's Cyrenne is volatile, brittle, elegant and essentially vulnerable - a complete contrast to bumbling, conventional Percy, played by Richard Rugg, whose North of England bombast hides a shy and inexperienced man.
Set late one Saturday evening in the "Swinging Sixties" in Cyrenne's basement flat, the play opens with a tipsy and uncertain Percy wondering what he's let himself in for as Cyrenne strips to her tantalising underwear, inviting him to complete what he, ostensibly, came to do.
The play begins slowly with verbal sparring and misunderstanding from both characters but the action and the dialogue pick up in the second and third acts with some witty one-liners and a wonderfully executed "prat-fall" from Rugg.
The brief intrusion of Ricard, played by Adrian Roberts, brings a welcome change of pace and raw energy to the stage and reminds Cyrenne of her roots.
We are gradually drawn into the lives of two characters struggling towards a relationship and are left hoping for the best.
Lloma Reeves' set is, as usual, perfect for the play, depicting a shabby, cluttered basement flat with only the cushions on the bed adding a touch of tawdry glamour.
The carefully chosen music from the 1960s-1970s - songs by Petula Clark and Helen Shapiro among others - adds to the atmosphere.
Experienced director Jill Horne has added life to what could have been a static play. It is well worth a visit.
- Val Isherwood
