REVIEW - Last of the Red Hot Lovers at Greenwich Theatre
By Marina Thomas A SERIAL adulterer, a nutty, self-obsessed wannabe actress and a desperate friend all considering an affair with a distinctly-average man. Sound like a barrel of laughs? Neil Simon s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1960 s comedy Last of the Red H
By Marina Thomas
A SERIAL adulterer, a nutty, self-obsessed wannabe actress and a desperate friend all considering an affair with a distinctly-average man.
Sound like a barrel of laughs? Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1960's comedy Last of the Red Hot Lovers is a real hoot but also a real analysis of the human race which gets surprisingly darker as it goes along.
Feeling the swinging 60s has passed him by and sensing mortality creeping up on him, fish restaurant owner Barney Cashman is looking for one final afternoon of hot passion.
You may also want to watch:
He invites three totally different women over to his mother's apartment but gradually realises what is really special to him.
Set over three acts, the first two which could have carried on without a break, the play is all about human insecurities and weaknesses and people looking for a chance to escape reality.
Most Read
- 1 Cops break Covid-19 rules to have haircuts at Bethnal Green police station
- 2 Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Whitechapel this morning
- 3 Lovely Day for Aldgate School picked to sing on Billy Ocean's new single
- 4 Police e-fit expert retiring after 15 years at Bethnal Green
- 5 Fury as family homes vanish when Isle of Dogs landlord converts to bedsits
- 6 Man sentenced after teenage boy groomed on Snapchat to sell heroin
- 7 Two men arrested after police officers assaulted in Limehouse rave
- 8 Covid hero who did charity walk in Bow aged 100 now has vaccine
- 9 Covid vaccination hub opening in Westfield next week
- 10 Death of woman, 75, in Mile End fire could have been avoided
There are many laugh out loud moments but underneath there's a lot of unhappiness and in the final act an analysis of people takes place - who's decent and who isn't.
The play does get darker as we see Jeanette who has experiences the other side of the situation as her husband cheats on her.
While the three eccentric women are delightfully played and the full characters drawn out, the play doesn't go into enough depth to explore the implications of the sexual revolution, what it was and how it influenced today.
I was left wondering about the consequences for today and the issues raised are certainly very much still up for debate.