Theatre Alibi, One in a Million

Review in Issue 16-2 | Summer 2004

Theatre Alibi move easily from productions aimed principally at children to work for adult audiences. Following a national tour and West End run with Why the Whales Came (based on the children's modern classic by Michael Morpurgo), Alibi's latest work One in a Million (written by company veteran Daniel Jamieson) is a quirky and idiosyncratic tale of buskers, gangsters, shopgirls, romantic assignments and sexual secrets. Circomedia graduate Tom Wainwright and Alibi regular Jordan Whyte are perfectly cast as the kooky couple who – in various guises and manifestations – meet, part and meet again to eventually find true happiness.

Witty writing, sharp physical performance, a beautiful frame set that makes shop windows or apartment walls slide into place in the wink of an eye, and a clever use of diagetic music in the busker's recurring appearances (singing to a beat-box) are just some of the reasons that this is such a gem of a show. I loved every minute, so it is hard to pick out highlights – but a scene that has stuck in my head is an on-set row in a kitchen augmented by an off-set/on-stage smashing of plates into a bucket.

The quality of work emerging from Alibi places this highly inventive theatre company in a deserved position of success with theatre audiences of all ages.

Presenting Artists
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. Mar 2004

This article in the magazine

Issue 16-2
p. 29