Review: Daytona at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

Daytona 
Theatre Royal Haymarket
Reviewed on Frdiay 4th July 2014

It's wonderful that the Theatre Royal Haymarket are finally recognising the terrific work which happens off-West End by welcoming their first off-West End transfer; however, it's a huge shame the show they have chosen to transfer is a dull piece of theatre which fails to represent the new and exciting work I witness week after week when reviewing off-West End productions.

Daytona has transferred to the West End for a limited season (ahead of the transfer of Richard Bean's new comedy Great Britain) following its 2013 run at the beautiful Park Theatre, one of London's newest and most exciting off-West End houses. 

Set in New York in 1986, Daytona introduces us to ballroom dancing loving couple Joe (Harry Shearer) and Elli (Maureen Lipman). One evening when Elli is out, Joe's 'long-lost brother' Billy (Oliver Cotton, who also wrote the piece) turns up out of the blue with one hell of a story which he takes the majority of the slow paced first act to tell. 

David Grindley's production gets off to a strong start, the first scene flies by and I remember being impressed by the fast pace early on, but as soon as Lipman leaves the stage the piece loses its spark. Billy's revelations are incredible; however, the text is so long winded that by the time his story eventually progressed I had completely lost interest. 

Maureen Lipman in Daytona

The dynamic between Billy and Joe lacks any kind of excitement - seeing your long-lost brother should be a major event! Instead it was all rather underwhelming and the delivery of Billy's story lacks grit or tension which is a huge wasted opportunity. 

The second act improves with the return of Lipman and some welcome twists and turns. I finally began to feel some compassion and found myself torn by the complexity of the situation, but is this too little too late? Lacking ups and downs, polite laughter was occasionally heard from the audience throughout. The comedy lacked relevancy and didn’t allow me to feel at ease.

Shearer, Lipman and Cotton are all fine actors. The trio give solid performances and deliver scenes with depth and understanding. Lipman is the show's saving grace; she is a dream to watch on stage with her force of nature presence providing some fantastic moments.

Daytona lacks that all-important electricity to drive the piece forward. Perhaps a more intense 90 minute version would bring some sort of spark, although personally I struggle to see what the piece is trying to say and what I gained from the experience. Daytona doesn't tell a story which hasn't been told before and brings nothing new to the table.

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

Daytona runs at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until Saturday 23rd August 2014.
Please visit www.trh.co.uk for further information and tickets.

Photo Credit: Johan Persson

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