THEATRE

A non-descript audience member is overheard pronouncing ‘I’d pay to see it again, and I’d pay so much more’; so luckily for her, this comment followed part 1 of the Bane trilogy, which is proving massively popular. Evidentially Joe Bone leaves his audience begging for more, so with 3 different shows following the title character Bruce Bane; ‘a hired hand that gets the job done’, pursued by Nemesis Shelby, Joe Bone is onto a winner. I watched the trilogy in a linear fashion and was thoroughly entertained 3 nights in a row, but I would dispute Bone’s testament that they can be watched in any order.

As an epic storyteller, he relished every word and movement down to the smallest detail to create a cinematic parody using only his voice, physicality and a live guitar score. He was like the human embodiment of a cartoon character cross 1930’s gangster movie’s anti-hero. He delivers an unstoppable energy to the character of Bruce Bane and all his characters, like a camp ninja, creating a truly exciting experience for the audience. His manic charm is alluring as he flickers in and out of roles in film-noir homage, Joe Bone is a one man tour de force.

I could picture perfectly what he was enacting, so when playing charades I’d want Joe on my team! Bane would work as a radio play, and he would make the most engaging audiobook narrator, but as a piece of theatre, his physicality makes the show electrifying. He must have re-enacted hundreds of deaths, fired thousands of air bullets but he somehow manages to make each killing sudden and exciting. He makes walking on the spot entertaining, and nobody can pull off slow motion like he does. With familiar ticks and recurring witticisms that link the 3 parts together, he rewards his audience along the journey and they share in united audible in-breath as the plot takes a shocking turn at the end of part 3.

I found part one to be the best chapter, as it were, as the subsequent parts are less easy to follow, but the novelty of his performance never fades. Parts 2 and 3 are less explosive, but as the plot structure becomes more convoluted and as he delves under the skin of the characters, it becomes more emotionally engaging. Proving that he can inspire pathos with the simplest of glances as easily as he can raise a smile.

It is not often that the audience refuses to stop applauding to let the act speak after the show, and as he took his bow with immense modesty, the applause proved what a crowd pleaser Bane 1,2 and 3 are, and what a crowd he is drawing.