His Teeth review, Only Connect

Down in the mouth

It's strangely thrilling to be sitting in a converted Baptist chapel yards from the notorious Kings Cross red light district, watching a drama about the dark underbelly of the great metropolis. The building is owned by Only Connect, a theatre company offering ex-offenders and those on the criminal periphery, salvation through acting. It clearly works. Hallelujah.

His Teeth is a short - 70 minutes - drama by Ben Musgrave that looks at people-trafficking and its attendant woes and dangers through the eyes of Eddie, a young Nigerian smuggled to the UK with the promise of work. On arrival he is divested of his passport and enslaved, and later apprenticed, to the local crime lords. Eddie is a fighter, but has to play the game to stay alive. Then he falls for Sarah, the white crack-addicted sex-toy girlfriend of Derek, cock-of-the-walk and all-round scary man... How likely is a Disney finale?

There's nothing new in His Teeth, but the story captures the raw intensity and harshness of a life on the run. The cast is a mixed bag and there are some striking high-energy performances. Some of the diction could be better, the screened set prevents the audience from engaging with the action, and the lighting is  so moody that one would be hard pressed to recognise the actors in the street, but in a strange way these irritations added to the authenticity of the piece.

In conclusion: Only Connect is a lovely space with an aspiring company keen and able to explore the fear and the darkness in the shadows about us - in the alleys, the doorways and the back rooms of our cities. Worth a look.

References
Henry Hitchings review in The Evening Standard
Only Connect Creative Arts Company