Review: Milked, White Bear Theatre

Simon Longman’s Milked proves an effective rural tragi-comedy with just a touch of the absurd at the White Bear Theatre

“That’s a really big cow”

Avenue Q asks us ‘what do you do with a BA in English’ and whilst Paul may have graduated in history instead, it’s a question that is increasingly ominous for him. Having returned to his Herefordshire home, he’s been throwing out hundreds of job applications and phone calls to no avail. Best pal Snowy who stayed on his family’s farm offers amusing company but limited support, more interested instead on taking long hikes.

Simon Longman’s Milked thus initially sets itself up as a potentially grim look at employment prospects for young men, particularly outside of the big cities, and the consequent effect on their mental health. That does remain a recurring thread but when Snowy finds a cow in ailing health on one of his walks, the play’s grounding is revealed as different territory – mordantly dark humour with a gruesomely playful edge – sheep catching on fire anyone?!

David Bond’s direction skilfully navigates the breadth of this emotional terrain. Unexpected song and dance routines (original music from Leo Baby) flesh out scene transitions and hint at deeper meanings, and forays out into the audience amp up the unsettling energy, as Snowy and Paul jump on the renewed purpose in life that Sandy – as they name the cow – gives them. And if they can’t cure the beast, then they’ll just put it out of its misery. Easy, right?

Predictably, it turns out to be quite the feat to either cure or kill a cow and Iwan Bond’s Paul and Evan L Barker’s Snowy play out these shenanigans to great effect. There’s comedy sure, but deep pathos too, as we come to see there’s much naïveté in both these young men and put under the unique stress of this unique situation, it can’t help but come to the boil. Mim Houghton’s design and Trekessa Austin’s lighting work work wonders in the White Bear’s black box, pushing us along to that breaking point.

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