Howard Hawks’ 1946 film The Big Sleep has been renovated and rewritten. Shaken up, but not stirred, this classic is brought slickly to the stage by About Braindead Theatre Company, the cinematic clichés of noir’s generic conventions resuscitated for a pleasant evening of 1930s American glamour.
The show is fast and furious: based on Raymond Chandler’s 1939 novel, it follows the tantalising adventures of Private Detective Jack Munroe as he attempts to decipher the web of blackmail, murder and sex that surrounds the Woodrow family. A different ending has been added which will keep those familiar with the story nicely on their toes, but the show succeeds in maintaining a clear rooting in its vintage foundations. Condensing such a complex plot into an hour means that at times developments can be a little obscure, but it remains an engaging piece overall.
Several other innovations successfully give a wonderful impression of cinema being projected live on stage. The piece is narrated from the perspective of Munroe but by another actor: Stefan Fletcher paces the outskirts of the stage, providing sardonic comments as new characters appear and giving philosophic musings. This merges beautifully into the show and brings a great fluidity to the potential awkwardness of set changes. There are also amusing, self-conscious nods to the iconic imagery of film noir: silhouettes are used ingeniously and a strobe light cleverly gives a sense of flickering screen play. It is these aspects which are Fast Film Noir’s key source of charm.
The production also finds, however, a solid support base in the skills of the cast. Skye Hallam-Hankin gives an especially captivating performance as Evelyn Woodrow-Rowley and Dom Luck displays impressive vocal range as he shifts between a variety of characters. Nick Brown could perhaps give the heartthrob Munroe more weighted confidence, but it is a convincing portrayal nonetheless. The troupe as a whole give a well-polished performance.
A culmination of minor flaws brings this show down from what it has the capacity to reach. Scenes often end rather abruptly and the comic potential of certain sketches needs to be played up in some areas in order to justify their presence in an otherwise compact sequence of events. Otherwise, Fast Film Noir delivers an exciting hour of mystery and seduction which is truly enticing.
