Jez Butterworth’s savagely comic play, Mojo ricochets full throttle through the seedy, amphetamine-addled London club scene of the 1950s. It follows a gang of snappily-dressed, menacing teddy boys and rockers who, seduced by the promise of fame and fortune, battle for control of hot teen singing idol, Silver Johnny.
Directed by Iain Sinclair (Our Town, Blood Wedding) Mojo is a tightly-wound thriller which examines the dark underside of the halcyon days of rock ‘n’ roll with grim humour.
An electrifying collision of Tarantino-esque shock and Jacobean revenge, the play opens with the discovery of a jealous nightclub owner’s body sawn in half. In the siege that follows a power vacuum emerges, which plays out through sustained riffs, zinging dialogue and live music.
Alternately hilarious and terrifying, Mojo burst onto the West End in 1995, receiving the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. It kickstarted a new wave of Brit gangster movies of the late 90s, including Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Jeremy Davidson, lead vocalist of local blues-rock outfit The Snowdroppers, makes his stage debut as Silver Johnny, surrounded by a testosterone-fuelled cast led by Eamon Farren (Romeo and Juliet, Mrs Warren’s Profession) and Josh McConville (Noises Off, Romeo and Juliet, Gross Und Klein).
“Mojo is gripping and shocking. The pace and texture of Butterworth’s dazzling dialogue, visceral and vaudevillian, makes you shudder and laugh simultaneously” – Mail on Sunday
Director: Iain Sinclair Featuring: Jeremy Davidson, Eamon Farren, Sam Haft, Alon Ilsar, Paul Kilpinen, Tony Martin, Josh McConville Set Designer: Pip Runciman Costume Designer: David Fleischer Lighting Designer: Nicholas Rayment Sound Designer: Steve Francis
Mojo
The Wharf – Pier 4, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay (Sydney)
Season: 17 May to 5 July 2014
Bookings: (02) 9250 1777 or online at: www.sydneytheatre.com.au
For more information, visit: www.sydneytheatre.com.au for details.
Image: courtesy of Sydney Theatre Company