You cannot be serious!
Many of us over a certain age will recall with a smile tennis superstar John McEnroe’s now infamous outbursts of public fury – a spleen vented at officials, racquets and chairs. He was the #1 player in the world and everyone’s favourite loose cannon, so quite why it’s taken so long to create a comic theatre piece about him is a mystery.
With I Heart John McEnroe, however, nostalgia is sated and expectations overturned. This devised and somewhat improvised piece is no mere biography. Indeed, at times it’s quite searching, even touching, delving as it does into issues surrounding anger, loneliness and prejudice. Although it takes place on a tennis court and involves suitably tight white shorts, this frequently clever deconstruction of one of sport’s most volatile personas says more about human frailty than it does about tennis or triumph.
This five-hander (four ‘McEnroes’ and one umpire) tries to find a balance between narrative, musical interlude and ironic reflection, at times lurching into a mid-match lull and seeming out of form, at others clicking hilariously into gear. Despite a patchy performance, I Heart John McEnroe wins in a tight tie-breaker.
However, look out for young Ivy Miller’s late game-show-stealer rendition of Tennis Court to seal a much-deserved victory.
Theatreworks to 10 Aug
