Review: BRIAN & ROGER - A Highly Offensive Play, The Mixing Room at Menier Chocolate Factory
Photo credit: Nobby Clark
Simon Lipkin and Dan Skinner play the title characters in the hilarious two hander Brian & Roger – A Highly Offensive Play, inspired by Skinner and Harry Peacock’s hit podcast Brian & Roger.
As the audience take their seats and look around, we seem to be sat in a community centre. Posters for local support groups, community events and kids clubs line the walls, an abandoned mop, crash mat and zimmer frame litter the space and the slightly battered décor speaks of a room that sees a lot of traffic.
Scrolling text on the back wall of the space tells us that Brian and Roger met at a support group for recently divorced men, which Roger (Skinner) is attending because he is genuinely grieving the loss of his marriage. Brian (Lipkin) was instructed to attend by his solicitor in order to avoid paying alimony to his ex-wife. We then meet Brian and Roger, who tell their story through a series of voicemail messages left to each other, and we quickly learn plenty about each character.
Roger is a fundamentally good man, who has suffered a breakdown as a result of his divorce. He is still very much in love with his ex-wife and dotes on his son; everything Roger does in his life is motivated by a desire to mend fences with his family. Brian is his opposite in pretty much every way - he has no desire to get back with his ex-wife, has moved on romantically (we witness a risqué bedroom scene with a leather harness, some studded underwear and a safe word!), and is constantly involved in dodgy deals in an attempt to earn money and move on from the student accommodation in which he has found himself living post-divorce. Despite their clear differences, the two strike up a friendship, and Brian offers some (exceptionally misguided) emotional support for Roger’s depression and anxiety. Roger is incredibly easily led and ends up in more than one, entirely farcical and potentially life-threatening situations due to Brian’s latest scheme.
Skinner and Lipkin work exceptionally well together, never addressing each other directly as the entire show is told via voicemail messages, but somehow managing to have an incredible chemistry. This wonderful pairing is even more impressive when considering that Lipkin has stepped into the role, as Harry Peacock who plays Brian in the podcast had to withdraw from the production on medical advice.
Belly laughs ring through the auditorium as the story progresses and we learn of Brian and Roger’s increasingly wild and silly escapades. The show is definitely not for the easily offended, is peppered with bad language, references to sex and drug use, very dark humour and some potentially distressing themes. However, the overall tone of the piece is that it is meant to entertain rather than to offend, and the well written script and intelligently observed characters make for an engaging and comedic evening of theatre. Thankfully, in the end, Brian does receive some repercussions for his poor behaviour, realising that he may have behaved poorly towards Roger and there is a sense that karma has played its hand. Although the play does touch on the wider issue of male mental health, it isn’t made to feel like a sermon on the subject, but raises awareness through humour.
The technical elements of the show are fantastic and Timothy Brid’s stunning video design does a stellar job of enhancing the set, as well as adding further comical touches to the story. It is great to see this new, smaller stage at the Menier Chocolate Factory being used to its full potential and offering an additional space to continue the Factory’s well deserved reputation of being a first class producing house.
**** 4 stars
Reviewed by: Sarah Brown
Brian and Roger runs until 18 December, with tickets available here.