THE new show at the Barn Theatre is all about the difficulty of finding a new James Bond at the same time as the legacy of the founders comes under threat from franchising corporate takeover. By the time I got to Cirencester to catch up with the production, news had just been announced in the real world that Jeff Bezos’s Amazon had taken control of the legendary Broccoli-Saltzman ownership of the 007 brand, and was looking at prequels, sequels, etc etc – Miss Moneypenny: the Early Years is on the cinematic horizon!

So Jordan Waller’s new comedy A Show To Die For could not be more topical, and the Barn, a producing theatre that is fast building a national reputation for its brave, inventive and always stylish productions of new shows in the Cotswolds, did its thing, transforming the space into a movie wonderland for the gala audience.
Directed by Derek Bond, whose awards come from his shows about dinosaurs, dragons and mythical beasts, the play is set in the office of Deborah, daughter of the founder of the Bond films, and in a strange little viewing theatre where she, her cousin Malcolm and son Quinn watch the casting auditions for a new super-spy.

It is packed with very funny ideas and astute references to the peculiar world we now inhabit, and with Janie Dee in the central role, it has all the super-charismatic pizzazz needed for the starry milieu.

The story is that Deborah has chosen an actor called David to follow in the footsteps of Connery, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig (all the major players, pictures adorning the office walls). She has leaked the embargoed news to the press and it’s all systems go … until the possibility of predatory behaviour is murmured.
In overdrive, Deborah looks for a way to salvage the situation. Major backer Le Croix favours an actor called Richard, but Deborah, into whose hands her celebrated father gave the reins, is determined that the choice will be hers.

All this time there’s a sub-plot of Deborah trying to hand the Rolex Submariner of power to her charming, gay, intern son Quinn, and his being less than interested and keener to talk about his documentary film-maker Egyptian boy friend.

Enter Theo, a bartender with a mean martini action that Quinn and the lover met at a restaurant. He’s also an actor, with a VERY unexpected back story. Emails are a-leaking, promises are broken, trust is shattered and family loyalties are strained to breaking point before the coup de grace comes, unexpectedly, and the lights go off.

A Role to Die For is a play that ought to have been a smash hit, but throughout the action, the dialogue and the direction it shows its framework, making suspension of disbelief all but impossible. Janie Dee gives a stunning, fireball of a performance, ably supported by Harry Goodson-Bevan as her son and Kit Esuruoso as Theo. Poor Philip Bretherton struggles with the underpowered and underwritten role of Malcolm, relishing his moments with the beanbag chair and his technical wizardry.

The Bezos takeover might offer a bewitching chance for a reset, or perhaps it shows that Jordan Waller is a promising psychic.

The play is on at The Barn until 15th March.

GP-W

PS – The mind-numbing number of things of which theatres have to warn their audiences these days even includes “suaveness” at The Barn for this show, and I have spent some time wondering what such behaviour might trigger in my sub-concious memory … I hope it was a joke, but then I might be cancelled for saying so.