Tim Sails Cruises in with Mushrooms
Wrap Party was born at a BBQ when writer Harry Petty overheard Ollie Hart and Harry Warren telling hilarious tales of running their catering van on busy film sets. Little did they know that after they’d helped turn it into a play, Ollie and Harry would be on the stage bringing themselves and a cast of hundreds to life, writes Michael Holland.
The van is a ramshackle affair with a dodgy boiler and temperamental hob that the two men keep going with TLC and knowing there is not enough money to fix it properly.
While they are prepping for the busy periods between filming, a motley selection of customers appear: Lilly Double-Barrel, the posh, nose-in-the-air PA to the director, Sebastian Conté; Clipboard Claire, the H&S operative, Micky, one of the film crew, and Tim Sails, the exuberant star who is in some weird religious cult, not to be confused with Tom Cruise.
Tim hates the director and wants to get food poisoning from the van so he can go sick; Claire wants to close everything down to show her power, plus get off with Micky; Tim brings special mushrooms to be cooked in a special way, while Lily needs any red-hot soup for Sebastian. Add to this a multitude of odd ‘caffeinated concoctions’, Harry missing his ex Mia, Ollie dreaming of stardom, plus a soupçon of farce, and you have all the ingredients for an action-packed adventure.
Wrap Party has all the authenticity of truth as we see how Ollie and Harry deal with the boiler probs and hob probs that appear as they negotiate a way through melodramatic film people. But in amongst this hectic life they always keep their friendship alive.
Harry Petty directs Ollie and Harry as they play all the parts with a minimum of fuss or prop change – and stupendously so. Oscars all round!
Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, 410 Brockley Road, London, SE4 2DH until 15th November.
Box office: www.brockleyjack.co.uk or 0333 666 3366 (£1.80 fee for phone bookings only)
Tickets: £17, £15 conc., 15+.
Running time: Eighty minutes with no interval
