Facepack Theatre, Go Caracas!

Review in Issue 11-4 | Winter 1999

Go Caracas! first saw the light of day as an anarchic piece of buffoonery developed in collaboration with Paul Hunter of Told By An Idiot. Since then it has undergone a metamorphosis and, under the direction of Javier Marzan of Peepolykus, has emerged as a rather jolly piece of tomfoolery that merges end-of-the-pier verbal humour with robust physical comedy.

Gone are the dark and menacing undertones of the original and in their place is a narrative that contains many elements of classic British farce: mistaken identities, a ludicrous love triangle, and enough entrances and exits to confuse Brian Rix. The characters are stereotypes of sitcom and music hall – the sexually frustrated matron, the cuckolded husband who doubles as a dangerous foreigner, and a bumbling policeman. Most of the action takes place in a barber's shop, providing plenty of opportunity for Gaulier-style repetition, verbal japes and visual jokes built around wigs, moustaches and cut-throat razors. The stepping-out-of-the-action finale could be seen as a victory for postmodern de-constructionist technique or a nod in the direction of Frankie Howard, depending on your viewpoint.

Although I would have liked to have seen more of the darker elements retained from the original version, I enjoyed the show and take my hat off to Facepack Theatre – or should that be my wig? Go Caracas! will be touring again in the summer-go see.

Presenting Artists
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. Oct 1999

This article in the magazine

Issue 11-4
p. 25