The Crumple Zone Review

December 2, 2024

The Crumple Zone Review

26th Nov – 22nd Dec 2024

As we took to our seats in the Waterloo East theatre last night, we could feel the shudder of the train tracks romping along above us. An inner city theatre located under the arches of a bridge felt fitting for this show: an often claustrophobic-feeling, comic melodrama set on Staten Island in New York. And yet, after that initial rumble, I found that once the play began, I didn’t notice it again.

The Crumple Zone is vibrant and energetic, taking place in a small apartment at Christmas, we follow three gay men in a doomed love triangle. The stage is focused on a small sofa with a Christmas tree in the corner; it feels cluttered and cramped, accurately reflecting the messy events about to occur.

“The Crumple Zone is a fun and easy going show where you will be completely charmed by the three leads”

Terry (James Grimm) is your typical flamboyant gay, who has never had a boyfriend. Buck (James Mackay) is a more reserved yet desperately handsome hopeless romantic in love with the final lead, Alex (Jonny Davidson) who is complicated and confused, cheating on his girlfriend of four years.

I found all three completely captivating. Each one demands the spotlight with every monologue and quick-witted line, often beaming with the wide-eyed brightness of young adulthood, before falling into the heart wrenching, messy consequences that follow. Watching the three interact was like a well-choreographed dance; in one scene they huddle together on the sofa as Alex recalls his bad day at work, and Buck and Terry lovingly interject throughout in perfect rhythm. Their chemistry as a trio was palpable throughout the theatre and I loved being entertained by them.

And yet, the high energy that created some of those magical moments was perhaps slightly overdone. Although the fast-speaking New Yorker is a stereotype they had to lean into, from an audience perspective, it was quite hard to follow some of the dialogue. It was intense from the off and I felt lost during the set up, missing key details about who the characters were. Similarly, deemed a comedy, I only laughed a handful of times. Whether that was because gags were getting lost in the delivery or they simply didn’t resonate with me due to this being a play from the early noughties, that’s difficult to say. Nonetheless, I think experimenting with moments of silence would have helped with the pacing and dynamics of the show.

I did enjoy the refreshing addition of supporting character, Roger (Nicholas Gauci), who injected some gruffness on stage, contrasting wonderfully with the flamboyance from the rest of the men. Meanwhile, Sinead Donnelly had the challenging task of playing Sam, the heartbroken girlfriend appearing only halfway through the play. I felt the audience didn’t particularly warm to her timid demeanour but liked her poignant scene with Terry, when he explained the concept of ‘the crumple zone’.

Overall, The Crumple Zone is a fun and easy going show where you will be completely charmed by the three leads. If they can just take a few moments to breathe – a few moments where you might just hear the train trudging along above us – then I think there is the potential for something quite brilliant.

The Crumple Zone is playing at Waterloo East Theatre until the 22nd December.