THE BALLAD OF HALO JONES

The Lass O'Gowrie, Charles St., Manchester
Until Saturday 7th January

Theatre Review

I had no idea what to expect from this production. After all, Alan Moore and Ian Gibson’s comic book space opera has a multitude of incredible characters, and an epic sweep. Well, The Lass O’Gowrie in association with Scytheplays has pulled it off. Comics genius Alan Moore, he of ‘Watchmen’ and ‘V For Vendetta’ fame, created ‘The Ballad Of Halo Jones’ for the 2000AD weekly comic in the 1980s and it became an instant cult success. Moore and artist Ian Gibson wanted to create a fully-rounded female character, as they were getting fed up of the dispiritingly one-dimensional presentations of women in comic books. Halo Jones would break the mould.

Set in the 50^th century, mass unemployment has resulted in the creation of The Hoop, a massive ghetto for no-hopers. These abandoned people are fed a daily diet of soap operas and celebrity gossip, and encouraged to simply accept their lot in life. Halo Jones is an ordinary young woman growing increasingly irritated by her friends’ inability to see anything beyond The Hoop, and through a series of bizarre events manages to see a way out.

There is little in the way of set in this production, and so we have only the actors to bring to life what at first seems unstageable. I admit I was a little lost for the first 10 minutes, as I have not read the original series of stories, and was completely unfamiliar with the confusing slang many of the characters speak in. But, I was soon mesmerised by the performances, and my ears adjusted accordingly.

Louise Hamer was simply perfect as Halo, and gave a genuinely affecting performance as the disadvantaged ‘everywoman’, battling against prejudice and hopelessness. A sweet mixture of innocence and steely determination, that had the audience taking her to their collective hearts. Superbly supported by the hyper active Claire Dean as the hard as nails Rodice, the two had great chemistry, and the characters’ deep friendship shone through. Paida Noel broke our hearts as the tragic Ludy, providing the catalyst for Halo’s escape. Benjamin Patterson was hilarious and terrifying as the robot dog, Toby; in this adaptation looking like a Cylon warrior in a hoodie (part man, part animal, part machine), and with a gruff Northern Irish accent adding an aura of contained menace. The scene where he rips a character to pieces was performed to perfection. Zoe Iqbal shone as the flamboyant tv presenter ‘Swifty Frisco’, providing regular updates on the relentless celebrity gossip, soap opera previews, and fashion tips; every brief appearance had the audience in stitches. An outstanding contribution came from Danny Wallace as ‘The Glyph’, a truly unsettling yet hilarious character revealed to be an actual non-entity due to an endless series of sex change operations that left him/her without a personality. There were so many weird and offbeat characters on display, that if one failed to amuse and entertain, there was another one along at any given moment. The wonderfully-named Marlon Solomon made me chuckle as the slimeball President, and again as the ineffectual Mix Ninegold. Gerard Thompson excelled as a fabulously leery Scotsman desperately trying to chat up Laura Cope’s icy sex kitten Toy Molto, and again eliciting belly laughs as a fashion conscious tosser. Michelle Ashton gave us a hard-faced and ridiculously amusing customs officer, and Alastair Gillies was brilliantly funny as an unintelligible workman, and slow-witted security guard. Terry Naylor’s Proximen and bartender stole every scene he was in with the minimum of dialogue. Phil Dennison’s weasel-like terrorist was a great character, and Will Hutchby had a lovely little scene waltzing with Halo as the enigmatic Lux.

Faced with performing in a very awkward space (the main bar area), the actors were remarkable in bringing to life a hugely ambitious story, and I was amazed at the atmosphere they created. I loved every minute, and felt as though I’d been in the company of some rather special friends.

Top marks to directors Daniel Thackeray and Ross Kelly (who also adapted the original comic strips), and producer Gareth Kavanagh. The Lass O’Gowrie is getting quite a reputation for adapting cult tv drama and comedy, and this fantastic production of a much-loved comic strip is yet another triumph.