Beryl Burton - a cycling superstar, counting over 90 local and national championships and seven international titles to her name. Maxine Peake's comedic play sets out to chart the struggles and triumphs of this remarkable Yorkshire athlete, from her close call with childhood rheumatic fever, which was supposed to be the end of any extreme physical exertion, to the daily grind of working in rhubarb fields and making ends meet.
Before the lights go down at the start of Beryl, the actors are already on stage, 'performing' as themselves, as they discuss the eponymous Beryl and marvel that none of them had heard of such a prolific sports star. Why, as one actor asks, has the limelight faded, and Burton passed out of the general public consciousness despite her amazing accomplishments?
Beryl never really engages with this question once the lights go down, although the subtext is pretty clear - she's a woman, and sports featuring women rarely get the attention of their male counterparts - instead choosing to pick through Burton's career and personal life to present a series of sketches connected by narration. The play began as a radio production but although director Rebecca Gatward and Peake have done an admirable job translating it into an interesting visual piece, full of sight-gags and set-pieces involving real bikes set on stands - kudos to the actors for delivering such energetic performances despite frequent bouts of frenetic cycling on the spot!
This is a performance that never lets the audience forget we're watching a performance illustrating fragments of a real person's life. The actors regularly break both character and the fourth wall in this way while they play out fragments of Beryl's life, calling attention to it with a boldness and humour that charms the audience, judging by the riotous response to the actors' jokey asides and self-aware physical comedy - the biggest laugh of the night was a direct dig at Cameron's miserly budget for the arts, which drew an appreciative round of applause as well.
T'infamous Yorkshire attitude runs right through the show - cheeky, irreverent, and not afraid to undermine itself with a quick mickey-take, and the actors are superb at giving their characters a rough and ready warmth. Unfortunately, the broad tone tends to hamper the more serious moments, such as when Beryl is seriously injured in a car accident, never quite overcoming a melodramatic quality that is somehow simultaneously underwhelming.
However, the obvious admiration and respect with which the play presents its subject, and the charming characters elevate the show beyond these minor flaws, making for a fun night out and a well-deserved tribute to the incorrigible Beryl Burton.
Beryl is at the Nottingham Playhouse from Monday 16 to Wednesday 18 November 2015
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