Golden opportunities would seemingly not come by Charlie Fox’s (Kevin Spacey) hands on a regular basis – or ever for that matter. So when a famous actor comes by his house (his house!) and agrees to sign up for a movie based on Charlie’s script, he is suddenly overwhelmed by the prospect of his new life as (surely) a trillionaire-to-be. So begins Speed the Plow – with a slight 15 minutes delay on this occasion, due to ‘technical difficulties’.
Written by David Mamet, the play was originally shown on Broadway (featuring Madonna in the secretary role). The three person cast, and elegant set design seems perfectly suited to the Old Vic, and despite the last minute ticket purchase resulting in some of the furthest seats back, the view of the stage was unobstructed.
So, back to the story; in Charlie’s impassioned state, he rushes to the office of successful film producer Bobby Gould (Jeff Goldblum) and prepares to share the joy with his long time friend slash rival even though he could have ‘gone across the road’ to strike a deal with some other money grabbing producer in order to get this movie made.
Charlie needs Bobby; someone he can trust if there is such a thing in this industry. Very soon the excitement level becomes feverish as the two congratulate themselves on their guaranteed success and trade frenzied mutual compliments. Bobby’s offer to Charlie of a ‘co-producer’ title is, amongst all the excitement, met with Charlie’s admission that he had always been jealous of Bobby’s success – but now they would finally be of equal standing in this movie-making game.
This first act is rife with pulsating energy and witty banter as the two loudly envision their future successes that will be cemented in a meeting at 10am the next day. Guaranteed. Or so we thought before the incongruous temp Karen (Laura Michelle Kelly) stepped onstage.
Karen is the catalyst for the ensuing heated conflict between the two males and yet somehow her character manages to be incredibly mundane at the same time. Too much of second part of the show is devoted to her monologue reading of the book she is trying to convince Bobby that he should make into a film, instead of Charlie’s guaranteed hit.
This was about the point when I wanted to look at my watch. Was it her high-pitched enthusiasm for a book about radiation? Or is it just a little boring to cast the female as the sexual object in order to create conflict between the two males? The female who leaves everyone wondering as to her real motivation – manipulative or just plain naive?
Despite this aspect of the story, the play is a great opportunity to witness Goldblum’s physical presence on stage – his first west end appearance. Juxtaposed with Spacey’s scattery and at times intense character, it is worth going to see the show to watch these two in action.
Speed the Plow is showing at London’s Old Vic theatre until 26th April.
