Theatre / Reviews
Review: Bonding, Tobacco Factory Theatres – ‘Laughs aplenty, but thoughtful and poignant moments, too’
Written and performed by Cyril Blake, Bonding is described as an exploration into ‘The Myth, Legend and Legacy of Bond’. It is also a hugely personal account of one man’s relationship with his father, a man very much different from his son, but with one critical thing in common: their love of the James Bond films.
With a simple set comprising one black wooden chair and a clothes rail containing six jackets, Blake takes us on a journey through the 60 years of Bond in all his incarnations, touching on the toxicity of masculinity, misogyny, sex, and cheesy repartee.
For those unfamiliar with the Bond franchise, this show might be a challenge, but as long as you are prepared to go along with the double entendres or for the ride (no pun intended) Bonding is a pleasant hour’s entertainment with a slightly old-fashioned edge.
is needed now More than ever
Allowing for artistic licence, Blake’s character is Stephen Lewis, and we begin with his standard working class Yorkshire childhood and a fascination with acting out 007-inspired antics. The early anecdotes paint an endearing picture of a lonely lad somewhat at odds with his father, who didn’t expect, or want, a boy like him.
Even though Lewis talks about the various Bond actors who shaped the way he sees himself and the world, we learn more about his father than we do about Sean Connery or Daniel Craig.
He may have the smart tuxedo, taste for martini and ability to seduce women at a drop of a dodgy flirtatious remark, but there is much vulnerability on show. His father didn’t follow his father down the pit but instead became a car mechanic, while his own son has similarly taken a different route into the world of acting.
Donning jacket by jacket, Lewis presents a series of both accurate and humorously inaccurate impressions, including Roger Moore, George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan. He prefers to model himself on the leather jacket-wearing Brosnan and although recognises that life can never be like the glamourous world of international spying, it gives him something to latch onto.
There are laughs aplenty, but the show offers more in the way of poignant moments, after Lewis’ mother’s death, and when he and his father can for once cry together, albeit only in the confines of a darkened cinema auditorium. A licence to spill tears.
Mathew Parker directs with a fluidity that gives the performance a light touch mixed with several sympathetic reflective pauses, while the sound design (Paul Freeman) provides timely effects and musical score to keep the emotions flowing.
The script only touches lightly on the more dubious elements of Bond’s character, including Lewis’ own experience of when the word ‘gay’ was only used in an insulting context.
If you love James in any of his manifestations, there is something for you here, but if not, then there are enough moments of reflection on what it means to have a male role model to make the evening worthwhile.
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Bonding is at Tobacco Factory Theatres on July 15-16 at 7.30pm. Tickets are available at www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com. Find out more at www.bondingshow.com.
All photos: Steve Ullathorne
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