Carl Grose dumps another hit comedy
Alaska
Acorn Theatre, Penzance
Review by Frank Ruhrmund
THE American author Jack London reckoned that "those who have undergone life in Alaska claim that in the making of the world God grew tired, and when He came to the last barrow load, just dumped it anyhow, and that was how Alaska happened to be".
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I don't know if Carl Grose had this in mind when he wrote his play of that name but with his Alaska – helped by director Simon Harvey and players Giles King and Craig Johnson – he delivers a barrow load of dramatic gems.
Such a talented team, all the members of which have been groomed with Kneehigh Theatre, is practically guaranteed to be good but with this "piece of the good life", not to say Athabascan activity, it is better than good.
A wild and woolly "inspirational interactive seminar", it tells of the adventures of the intrepid Justin (Giles King) who gallantly crosses "one of the last great frontiers of the modern world" in search of freedom, of his meeting with the "old school beatnik" Babe (Craig Johnson), and of the importance of everything in their lives from Pippy Nuts to Mt McKinley. I've said it's wild and woolly, it's also wacky.
Billed as "a recipe for disaster" it is, in fact, a recipe for delight. There's no telling what the hero's survival handbook says about the part laughter plays in the battle between man and bushcraft, but its presence here conquers all, even the environmental message that despite all man throws at it nature will win.
From the fur-coated singing of the "good ol' boy" nutty commercial to the audience-helped entry of various cuddly beasts of the wild, from its superb soundtrack to its high level of performance and production values, it is faultless and very funny.
Unmissable, presented by Black Fish and makin projects, in association with Exeter Northcott Theatre, if you haven't yet seen Alaska then catch it this Saturday at Grampound Community Hall where its tour ends.
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