Theatre/ Mojo, Red Herring Theatre Company. Until February 1, at ACT Hub. Reviewed by ALANNA MACLEAN.
Jez Butterworth’s 1995 play Mojo, set in the sleazy shallows of the 1950s British music scene, is given an atmospheric production by Red Herring Theatre Company at the ACT Hub.
We’re talking pre-Beatles and a certain sense of early Elvis. The setting is the none too salubrious Atlantic Club where singer Silver Johnny (Joshua James) just might fight his way to fame and fortune.
Unlikely, given the nature of the place. Drugs fly around and the thinking is small. Silver Johnny is kidnapped and his manager Ezra ends up in two pieces, sawn in half. It’s pretty clear that the resulting power struggles over who owns the singer won’t end well.
Lachlan Houen’s production takes this all at an initial speed, which means that the audience is scrambling to catch up and to hear all the dialogue clearly.
Jack Ferrier’s Potts and Joel Hrbek’s Sweets start matters off as an almost incomprehensible pair of spivs, working fast but not very smartly.
The urbane Mickey (Taylor Barrett) outmanoeuvres them as does the rather elegant Baby (Lachlan Herring), son of the dismembered Ezra. Meanwhile, the bumbling Skinny (Taj de Montis) struggles to keep up, both with unfolding events and with personal hygiene.
It all ends in tragedy and blood while maintaining a kind of surreal black British comedy like that of Joe Orton or Steve Berkoff, supported by some clear-eyed performances. There’s a touch of Michael Caine in The Italian Job, too.
A long evening but a worthwhile opener to 2025.
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