‘I was a docker once, but I'm working now,’ says Scouse comic Jigsy in Tony Staveacre's new play, as he reminisces about Liverpool life in the past. He whiles away the time before he is due back on stage in a working men's club in the late 1990s, talking about other comics from the past and thinking about life and death.
Les Dennis stars as the stand-up who is sometimes not quite so able to stand up by the end of the night, but has a gag ready for any occasion. A seasoned performer such as Dennis would always have the audience in the palm of his hand, but Staveacre's script makes this more than a collection of jokes: It is a well-constructed solo play, with a character one can't help loving, even though he is ruddy from years of drinking ale and confesses to having been an absent father.
As he tells stories about comedy through the twentieth century, Jigsy mimics various other comics, including Billy Bennett and Ken Dodd. This gives Dennis a chance to really shine, playing with various styles of delivery, and he does this to great effect.
Of course the mood becomes more serious as Jigsy talks about death and what happens to performers who burn out. The jokes keep coming, but he is also passionately arguing, and throughout all this, Dennis keeps the audience engaged. Although the climax of the play is not very climactic at all, the play still works because there is humour in the drama, and drama behind every gag. Director Hannah Chissick does well to manage this balance.
The set for 'Jigsy' is a beautifully detailed naturalistic backstage scene, and designer Harriet de Winton deserves a special mention. While the play would have worked on the type of bare stage one sees everywhere at the Fringe, her set just adds something special.
This production is of a very high standard, with all the technical elements contributing to a carefully directed and well-performed show, which is both touching and funny.
