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Apollo: Take 111

 
Skot Wilson Review by Skot Wilson 2 Published: 9 Aug 2019 Zoo Southside Show Dates: 2 Aug 2019-26 Aug 2019

James Stuart – or Stuart James – is passed out at his desk as the audience file into the space. He’s been working long days and long nights as an overworked and sallow state servant. The reason why it’s hard to remember his name is that his existence is, well, quite forgettable. This is a core gag at the heart of Strickland Production’s Apollo: Take 111, which has a really attractive premise but does not deliver on its mission statement.

Probably the most visionary and flexible use of cardboard boxes in contemporary British theatre

James Stuart – or Stuart James – has been told by his boss to join the effort of landing men on the moon. He is an important but forgettable cog, in an important history-making machine. Realising his task is impossible, he instead attempts to film a moon landing in his basement – anything to keep the Russians on the back foot and strengthen the USA.

This is a farce on a shoestring, which is fine. It’s a joy to see shameless rapid-fire ridiculousness at the Fringe in a black box space and it must be said that Apollo: Take 111 has probably the most visionary and flexible use of cardboard boxes in contemporary British theatre – which may not be the accolade Strickland Productions were looking for, but such is life at the Fringe.

Stuart James’ task is complicated and this is where Apollo: Take 111 stumbles – nothing entirely makes sense and there is a lack of commitment within the show itself. It is not fully absurd, it is not entirely surreal, and it’s plot often feels lazy. It feels like the writing is not committed to the actual premise, and so the storytelling is really very jagged. Two masquerading Russians appear, for the ‘Russians wear furry hats and steal state secrets’ gag, and are then forgotten by the play. When Stuart James’ relationship falls to pieces, there’s no emotional or considerable force that was worth investing in the couple anyway. There is no replacement for a script that can deliver its key plot points, and unfortunately Apollo: Take 111 struggles to do this. Sometimes a funny moment is undermined due to the length of an actor’s monologue; or the same joke is rephrased over several minutes. It all feels extraneous, which is frustrating when character motivations see almost no stage time.

The pace picks up when Stanley Kosminsky, a savage film director, turns up to film the moon landing in James’ basement. Things get funnier and the performances here show commitment to the silliness, as well as delivering that silliness with panache and choreography.

But the writing struggles. Even a farce needs a plot, and farce can be one of the hardest styles of comedy to successfully pull off: it requires meticulous attention to pacing, character motivations, and choreography. Like Strickland Production’s lovely cardboard boxes, which were at times a desk or a film camera, the plot of Apollo: Take 111 felt like a cardboard cut-out of an idea rather than an actual narrative.

Apollo: Take 111 acknowledges the anniversary of the moon landing, but feels starved of oxygen from the outset.

Amir Nisi

Skot Wilson

Skot Wilson is a writer & playwright on attachment to Bristol Old Vic, and a recipient of a 2021-2022 Boston University MFA scholarship. His work has been commissioned by Bristol Old Vic Theatre, the BBC, and he is a recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Literary Prize. He joined Broadway Baby in 2018 and was shortlisted for Allen Wright Award for reviewing at Edinburgh Fringe in the same year, as well as the International Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism.

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The Blurb:

'One small step for man, one giant leap for... Line!' Its 1960s America and a small-town government employee's life is about to change forever when he is tasked with landing men on the Moon. The only issue is that he doesn't have a clue how to do it. With the help of an elusive director and the most difficult group of actors on the planet, watch him try to mount the largest scam in history in this hilarious modern farce exploring conspiracy theories, 1960s American pop culture and why we love believing nothing in history's ever right.
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