Simon Ward reviews So Help Me Dog at the Hen and Chickens Theatre

It can be excruciating being in the audience at a fringe theatre show, typically in a small room above a pub. If a show is not going well, or simply needs a bigger audience to make it work, it can be painful to watch, and must be painful to perform. But the flipside is that when it works well, there is a visceral thrill to be had like no other from witnessing excellence at such close quarters. In inhabiting the role of Danny Franks, aka Prisoner NX3369, Kai Spellman, under Lil Warren’s direction, delivers one of those moments it is a privilege to witness. The staging is simple and sparse so the focus is on him throughout. Dean Stalham’s writing is kaleidoscopic, mesmerising and thrilling. There are sections of verse and lyricism, as well as moments of brutality and belly-laughing hilarity. It is not a criticism to say that I heard echoes of Steven Berkoff in his prime – this is just as good and stands on its own merits. Spellman masters all the challenges of the language. It’s an intense, bravura, almost unnerving performance. Supporting characters played by Claire Marie Fox and Gary Cain may not quite match Spellman’s intensity, but they are effective in delivering Stalham’s message that the world really is rigged against Danny.

Dean Stalham is credited as writer, producer and designer for the show, and so, presumably deserves credit for Danny’s immaculate costumes – first in an off-white cream dinner suit and then in a spotless grey prison sweatshirt. The clothes seem to represent a kind of ethereal goodness attaching to Danny in spite of a life devoted primarily to petty, and then not so petty, crime. Danny would no doubt be scathing about the ‘ethereal goodness’ line as he is adamant that there is no God, at least not for the likes of him, hence the play’s punning title. But he does feel a kind of spirituality and the most moving moment of the evening is when he feels a connection with his late wife and mother of his daughter.

The play is described in the programme as ‘based on a very true story’ and there are clear echoes throughout between Danny’s life history and Stalham’s. But the triumph here is to take what could have been a sad and seedy tale of a dead-end life going nowhere and turn it into a kind of madcap romp where one fundamentally decent man takes on the system where the odds are stacked against him. If he doesn’t exactly win, he does at least manage to find a way to liberate the feelings which have been pent up inside him. And he finds a way into the world of art and theatre from which he had been excluded. It is, of course, a cliché to say that I laughed and I cried at this, even though that does describe my ideal night at the theatre, but in this show it is literally true – it goes from the most heartbreaking moment to the most laugh-out-loud hilarious in a single beat. Breathtaking writing, mindblowing performance – this is a must see.

So Help Me Dog runs at the Hen and Chickens Theatre,109 St Paul’s Road, London N1 2NA until 15th June.