What the
press said about 'Stories From Mean Street'.
Stand-up Bob Boyton won a dedicated band of admirers with his
class war routines in the mid - 80's, but when political cabaret
fell from favour he was left high and dry.. Now's he back with a
new 90 minute show and instead of sniping at the ruling class,
Boyton has written a series of tragi-comic monologues about
disenfranchised individuals at the edges of society. He has stayed
true to the political ideas that inspired him originally, but the
plight of these funny desperate characters touches you far more
than jokes about fire bombing Conservative Central Office ever
did.... The characters inhabit a slightly cliched sawdust world of
strippers, bent coppers and shady deals, but they react to the
dilemmas they find themselves in with a much greater moral
sophistication than such low lifers would normally be given credit
for - which presumably, is Boyton's point.
Recommended
****
Colin Shearman, The Guardian.
The five tales are penned by Boyton who leads a Clark Kent type of
existence. By day he works with the homeless; by night he plies
his trade on the comedy circuit. In Stories from Mean Street his
two worlds merge. His playlets aim to shine a spotlight on an
underclass often ignored by the more affluent majority ... if it
all sounds dreadfully worthy, you'll be relieved to hear that
Boyton has managed to inject a sense of humour into his work. In
'Terry' a violent ex con remembers proposing to his childhood
sweetheart, 'That took everyone by surprise, me getting married at
17 and her not even pregnant.'.
The most poignant piece 'Carol' tells the tale of a hopeless
former junkie whose attempts to clean up her act are hampered by
her even more hopeless boyfriend. She lost her one year old son,
Tommy, to social services after being chucked out of her B.and B.
and forced to rough it in an underground garage. Now Carol's only
contact with Tommy is taking the bus past his foster parents's
home. 'Although she had never seen him, it mad her feel better
knowing that she had been near him.'
The performances radiated commitment and a sense of authenticity
resonated through the monologues. It goes to show that political
comedy can mean more than ranting about 'Thatch.'
James Rampton,The Independent.
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