| Front Page -- Back Mojo - Liverpool premier Cecilie D. Haug If the time spent on cockney-gangster-though-guy dialogs had been halved, this play would have been an intriguing delight to watch. The plot is somewhat interesting and the actors actually very good, but this doesn�t help when your thoughts start to drift because of the lack of action during the first hour. Mojo, a play written by contemporary writer Jez Butterworth and now directed by graduating drama student Kelly McHugh, is sad to say a bit boring and tantalising. This is by all means not the actors� fault, but McHugh who has failed to cut out some of what could and should have been a spicy element in the story; the brash cockney gangster dialog. Even though the dialogs between the characters are necessary to tell the story, too much excitement is lost in the tedious and nervous chitchat. As with all good spices too much ruins the dish. Mojo is a story about murder and betrayal set in the late 1950�s eastend of London. Ezra�s nightclub is the place to be as upcoming rock star Silver Johnny performs for ecstatic crowds every night. The success and money involved attracts infamous Sam Ross, who wants a piece of the action. Ezra turns up dead one morning and his slightly disturbed son Baby and workers Mickey, Sweets, Skinny and Potts are left to pick up the pieces. Literally as well, as Ezra�s body is found in two separate garbage bins. Mickey considers himself the new boss and to get full control of the business he needs to get rid of Baby. Baby realises what is happening behind his back and when he gets kicked out of his own club he decides to take the matter of his father�s murder and Mickey�s behaviour into his own hands. It all ends in a heartfelt encounter where betrayal, conspiracies, gunshots and friendship becomes a deadly mix in the already bloodstained story with no happy ending. Mojo is part of a Theatre Festival directed and cast by third-year drama students from John Moores University. All of the actors in question did a good job, but was certainly outplayed by Timothy Feak. He�s the man behind the character of Baby and he delivered an excellent performance gripping the audience with his honest and personal presentation of his character. This is an actor who really stood out from the rest, switching between the highly unexpected moodswings of Baby with no trouble at all. Despite the somewhat prolonged first act Mojo really advanced throughout the show. Despair, confusion and other intense emotions mixed with gunshots and desperate means enriched the play as the, much waited for, action appeared after the recess. Kidnapping, violence, filthy language and even nervous and intense humour now livened up the scenes as the audience were taken through the motions. The lighting, music and setting of the stage also provided an authentic feel to the show. You could easily believe and understand the emotions and actions taken by the characters as you felt yourself slipping back in time to 1958. Although Kelly McHugh should have taken a closer look at the length of the play, she has done well to bring this rather dull, but in a way, entertaining plot to the hights she has. |