Liverpool Theatre Review - On the Ledge, Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
By Emma Kreft

I wouldn't say that On the Ledge sent me over the edge but it didn't exactly keep me on the edge of my seat either.

Set in the city of Liverpool over three storeys of a dilapidated apartment block on bonfire night, it features a group of characters driven by desperation or stupidity to congregate on a six-inch shelf running across the face of the building. Some of the staging demands send a rush of blood to the head: Dave Hart's character, known simply as Upside Down, spends the first fifteen minutes of the first half hanging from the roof writing the words ‘Anarchy Rules' in red paint while his scally pal Right Way Up (Lenny Wood) clings on to his ankles.

The momentum of a play in which the characters can only sidle from side to side is obviously limited and I have to admit that at times I nearly fell asleep because the action was so static but it was a good symbol for characters who are literally going nowhere. (But not for the audience who can't go anywhere until the interval or the end of the performance.)

There is great work from Andrew Schofield as a bemused fireman, forced to dodge stones thrown by kids who are burning down their own homes. And the climax of Bob Eaton's production is unforgettable. Yet the most revealing contribution comes from Louis Emeric as one of two bouncer-type sidekicks of a corrupt property developer. His performance as a ‘suited and booted' wannabe gangster was firm but funny something which made the audience members warm to him even more.

Until Saturday 24th May 2008.