A play about Kurt Cobain- who would have thought?… Martin Sadofski dared and introduced his fortnight-running new production, directed by Dylan Brown, ‘Nevermind’ (named after the bestselling album by Cobain’s band, Nirvana) at The Old Red Lion, a cosy pub in Islington that also plays host to some of the best fringe theatre.
So, what is this all about?: John, a struggling music journalist returns to his mum’s house in Yorkshire back from London, in order to find a writing retreat with the aim to deliver the ultimate biography of Kurt Cobain or rather the best reconstitution of his last days, and the ghost of whom turns out to be John’s most if best imaginary friend and the mirror of his own personal failings. The resurrected Kurt “helps” John find out “what really happened”, as gradually unveiled throughout John’s laborious relationships with both his mother Ruth and his girlfriend Helen, until the penultimate and tragic solution to the enigma. To tell that ‘Nevermind’ is a play about suicide is by no means spoiling it, as that is exactly how it was marketed, and there’s more to it than the eventual outcome of this dynamic and brilliantly structured play (punctuated by a masterclass soundtrack including some of Nirvana’s classics), such as the irreverent dialogues, mainly involving the returned rock star, nostalgic anecdotes and the premiere-league acting of the four protagonists (John aka Chris Coghill seen in ‘Shameless’ and ‘24 Hour Party People’; Daniela Denby-Ashe aka Helen; Ruth Evans playing Ruth, and Kurt Cobain’s reincarnation in Tom Railton) , whose respective skills are designed for larger spectatorship.
Correlating with the cinematographic release of Ken Loach’s ‘Looking For Eric’ (where one Joe Bloggs gets imaginarily acquainted with former Manchester player Eric Cantona), ‘Nevermind’ also explores the impact of one-to-one fanaticism, for better or worse. In the case of ‘Nevermind’, while it is widely thought that suicide is for losers, to miss this gem would literally make you one of them….
Nevermind is on at The Old Red Lion, in London Islington, until Saturday 4 July.
