Christian Dart’s homage to film noir with just a touch of insanity, Gumshoe!, stops off at the New Wimbledon Studio before it heads to the Edinburgh Fringe.
You may expect a grizzled, middle-aged, hard drinking detective, but if you have seen Dart before, you will know that he operates on a level of high-energy that is somewhere between commercial airspace and beyond the blue horizon, and rarely makes much sense.
In this live capture (sadly transport problems meant I missed the show on the scheduled night), you are pulled into Dart’s fancy wordplay and effortless rapport with the audience.
His voice has a ‘New Yoick’ twang that Lina Lamont would approve of, and gives a monologue that is so fast, frenetic and feverish you might miss a word or two, but in pulling in the punters to become part of the show this becomes a piece of immersive theatre as well as clever comedy.
Gumshoe! is absurd, loud, brash, and cartoonish. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Donald Duck or Bugs Bunny had walked through the door.
Co-director Johanna Dart, who has many other roles as well, both reigns in her brother’s excesses and lets them loose. It’s all very funny, and as Dart is known for improvision, even a rogue microphone pack becomes part of the show.
Recorded on one of the hottest evenings of the year, it must have been a tricky experience for Dart, dressed in one of those trenchcoat things to combat the winter blues.
He’s rather fey and very chatty, the exact opposite of a detective who could take cover to solve a ‘moider’, but quickly this doesn’t matter and you just sit back and enjoy the ride.
1940s values lampoooned, recorded voices disregarded, bad jokes delivered, and audience manipulated: this is what you will find with Gumshoe! while being thoroughly bewildered about this last case of the crusty investigator.
The incidental music is straight out of “Dragnet“, the long hair of the performer is completely incongurous, and the drama is delightful.
Another bonkers instalment of fun and invention from a performer who can never be accused of being ‘shy and retiring’.
A solid 4 stars.