As the experts say, it all comes down to location, location, location. If you were to encounter this brief show by the Aussie trio, the Suitcase Royale, while rambling around the Edinburgh Fringe — it was a hit there last year — you might think it an hour very well spent. In the more business-like West End it looks slightly more fragile. The Soho Theatre’s new basement cabaret certainly has lots of atmosphere, and it was good to hear a vintage Nellie Lutcher record playing over the speakers as the cast left the stage. But gaps in the script suggest that some of the pages may have been left behind on the plane from Melbourne.
On an ingenious set, which has the dream-like atmosphere of a Tim Burton fantasy, the three musicians cum actors flit through the engagingly chaotic pre-war tale of a boxer from the Outback who plies his trade in a dingy hole which also doubles as the local abattoir. The unscrupulous owner, Messy Dimes, pulls the strings. Will the valiant Joe take a dive next time? And who really was responsible for the death of his wife? A private investigator, Detective Von Trapp, arrives in town to try to get to the bottom of it all.
In between the exchanges of hard-boiled film noir dialogue, Miles O’Neill, Joseph O’Farrell and Glen Walton provide bluesy, guitar-driven numbers with a twist of Tom Waits. While it’s not always easy to see what connection, if any, the songs have with the storyline, their energy is infectious. They also supply a pre-show performance as the audience settles into its seats or queues at the bar.
Much of the humour derives from wittily mistimed sound cues and ad libs from the Coarse Acting School of Drama. Many of the jokes and puns don’t aim much higher than outtakes from Benny Hill. As a pugilistic spectacle, though, it’s more fun than watching David Haye and his toe go into battle against Doctor Steelhammer.
Box office: 020-7478 0100, to Jul 16