one4review | On 06, Aug 2023

A one-man show written and performed by Nicholas Cohen, based on a true story (although we are advised that the names have been changed to avoid multiple lawsuits!).

Nick is brought up by parents obsessed with cinema, an early memory is a dinner party with the team behind the original Superman movies. He is not a nepo-baby, but a “repo-baby”, encouraged by his parents to repossess the successes that they never managed to achieve in their own lives. He is desperate to win an Oscar and to live up to his inherited destiny. He sets off to Los Angeles to stay with a double Oscar winner who has promised to get him nominated. In an appropriately named venue, the play is a satire on the real underbelly of Hollywood and a look behind the scenes of life on Sunset Boulevard. After initially enjoying the luxuries of the Los Angeles lifestyle, the Englishman in an unfamiliar world soon learns more about the real Hollywood and how the Academy Awards actually works. In a very powerful and engaging performance, Cohen not only plays all of the roles, but effortlessly seems to inhabit their personalities as he brings to life the various characters he encounters. But will the phone ever ring for him?

Film buffs will love this play, but even non-film buffs will be bowled over by the energy of the performance. A compelling piece of theatre which I would highly recommend.

4****

Reviewed by Howard

Underbelly Cowgate – Big Belly

14.00 (1hr)

Until 27 Aug (not 14)