![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/rsz_dsc02080.jpg?resize=560%2C373&ssl=1\")
Ezra\u2019s second in charge, Mickey (Ava Cameron) takes over. But there is grave disquiet among the group of small-time gangsters\/employees at the club, who fear they will be next on the hit list. This is a darkly comedic offering, in which paranoia and betrayal play a significant hand. It becomes a power struggle, and you are left asking the question whether everyone will make it out of the club alive.<\/p>\n
The shady types include besties Potts (Lily Malone) and Sweets (Lily Bartlett). Then there is Ezra\u2019s mercenary son Baby (Emily O\u2019Brien), who is capable of some scary stuff, and the perpetually apprehensive and picked on Skinny (Aimee Smith).<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/rsz_dsc02674.jpg?resize=560%2C373&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n
Jez Butterworth\u2019s impetus for the play was a conversation he had about Soho and the collision between early rock \u2018n roll and gangland violence. Adopting strong British accents, I was mighty impressed by the strength in the performances. The six actors do a fine job getting into character.<\/p>\n
Among the highlights is the interplay between the two \u201cLilies\u201d, whose comic timing is impressive. I also appreciated the authority and sense of calm that Ava Cameron brings to her role as Mickey. Emily O\u2019Brien\u2019s \u201cunhinged\u201d portrayal of Baby strikes a chord from her introduction. She is eminently watchable throughout. You always fear what Baby is capable of.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/rsz_dsc02464.jpg?resize=560%2C373&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n
The production starts with a \u201cbang\u201d. Lilla Barrington\u2019s gyrations and jumps to Chuck Berry\u2019s Johnny B. Goode (released in March 1958) is attention grabbing. Aimee Smith\u2019s persona is all about vulnerability and she channels that admirably.<\/p>\n
The atmospherics \u2013 the sets (realised by Sasha Lea-Rowell), sound (designed by Fionn Baker Goodson) and lighting (designed by Heath Roberts) \u2013 set the tone nicely. The backdrop for Act I is an old-style wooden desk with a few chairs, a juke box and a standard lamp.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/rsz_dsc02109.jpg?resize=560%2C373&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n
In Act II, all but the lamp are replaced by a reception desk, stools, a striking chaise couch and cushion, and two dirty metal rubbish bins, against a blue foil fringe curtain. The backdrop is a blue foil fringed curtain. The dress code (costuming) embraces \u201cgangsta chic\u201d.<\/p>\n
Director Lucy King has worked hard to give us an entertaining, amusing and engaging gritty, crime thriller that pops. Two hours 20 minutes, including interval, Mojo is on at Chapel Off Chapel until 9th August, 2026.<\/p>\n
Alex First<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
English playwright Jez Butterworth\u2019s first professional play was the corker Mojo. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1995, when he was 26 years of age. It won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Now, Almost Pisces Productions, a female founded theatre company, has reimagined it with an all-girl cast…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":171199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[801],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre"],"yoast_head":"\n