This isn’t a sponsored post.
BrumHour saw Withnail and I at the invite of Birmingham Rep.
By Dave Massey twitter.com/BrumHour
This production contains very strong language including homophobic and racial slurs.
Review: Withnail and I at Birmingham Rep
⭐⭐⭐⭐Brash and sometimes chaotic.
Directed by Sean Foley, written by Bruce Robinson
Set in 1969, this semi-autobiographical play is based on the 1987 cult film, Withnail (Robert Sheehan) and Marwood (Adonis Siddique) are unemployed actors who decide to take a trip up (North) to the rural property owned by Withnail’s Uncle Monty (Malcolm Sinclair) for a short sabbatical.
This production is very much told from the perspective of Marwood aka “And I”, we see his perceptions of Withnail as a narcissistic drunk and Withnail’s Uncle Monty as a sexual predator while Marwood seems to getting his life together.
The sets are two static side walls and several dropping walls in the centre which form each room, projection is very effective and their drives up and down the country are demonstrated effectively by moving projection surrounding what hopefully isn’t a classic Jaguar sliced in two. The costumes feel timeless and you could imagine actors trotting about London in them even today.
Great music is provided by a sometimes onstage live band who also play other characters throughout the show.
Robert Sheehan is excellent as Withnail his performance really pulling the audience into his crazy world, Adonis Siddique is vulnerable and charming as our narrator, whilst Malcolm Sinclair is suitably posh and cringe-inducing as Monty.
Like myself, a percentage of the audience will be seeing this story for the first time and watched as with 2024 eyes it is peppered with issues that we just manage differently today. From Withnail’s poor mental health related to his perceived failure to his self-medication with booze, and there’s a more than whiff of upper middle-class blindness to it all.
Brash and sometimes chaotic Withnail and I is at Birmingham Rep until 25th May. Book tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on.
