Simon Ward reviews Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People at the Soho Theatre

As the autumnal gloom envelops tube strike-ridden London, it is an absolute delight to escape into the garish world of Lorna Rose Treen’s Blue Tit Diner. The upbeat soundtrack as the audience gathers sets the mood. I got the impression that a lot of the large crowd were already fans, and so probably had some idea what to expect. I, on the other hand, was bowled over by a tidal wave of silliness unlike almost anything else I’ve seen. Known for her stand-up comedy, Treen has now written a play of sorts – in reality it is a setting in which a series of comedy characters perform. There is a hint of a plot, but part of the fun is how ridiculously sketchy it is – Treen’s waitress at the heart of the action is, of course, dreaming of leaving the diner behind to follow her dreams: she just hasn’t worked out what those dreams might be yet.

The show is irresistibly home-spun – quite literally in the case of the costumes credited to ‘Lorna’s sister Jennie’. Jimmy Slim’s set design recreates an authentic diner feel, but it is clear that the budget was minimal. They still manage a couple of brilliant sight gags, including a hilarious showstopper that has to be seen to be believed. Treen’s angle is that she knows it’s all nonsense but she is committing to it nonetheless, and the audience has to get involved. Up to and including, ad-libbing lines on stage as well as following a script. Front-row ticket holders beware. On the night I was there the audience involvement ranged from the sublime – our ad-libbing friend – to the ridiculous – where someone abjectly failed to get a boob to inflate.

Treen is also a master of keeping the audience onside – she slips in and out of character to deliver a kind of running commentary and to make sure that we know where we are and what’s going on. Her engaging personality lures you in so you are completely unprepared when, for example, she proceeds to churn out the bizarre and disturbing sexual fantasies of a repressed teenage girl without skipping a beat. In fact, one of the joys of Treen’s performance, under Jonathan Oldfield’s direction, is how brilliantly she slips between characters. Kudos too, to lighting designer and technician Jake Wood for keeping up with it all. Which isn’t to say that there are not occasional longueurs over a tricky costume change, but that all adds to the charm.

Apparently, the Sun newspaper announced the death of comedy in August 2023 when one of Treen’s jokes was chosen as the pick of the Edinburgh Festival. On the evidence of this evening’s performance the corpse has been exhumed and brought back Lazarus-like to full and healthy life. Give in to the craziness, go with the madcap flow, and you will be richly rewarded. An irresistible treat, this is a riotous way to stave off the post-holiday blues.

Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People is running at the Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE until Saturday 13th September before a UK tour, dates to be announced