Review: TAPE FACE, Garrick Theatre

Almost two and a half hours in a theatre with no talking. You might think you're at the ballet (and you may be, given one of the skits). Returning to the London stage, Sam Wills dons his signature mouth tape once again. He may be silent, but audiences are screaming for Tape Face.

The show opens on Tape Face backstage...waiting for this very show to open. With a couple of hours to kill, he falls asleep listening to the shipping forecast and dreams of his upcoming performance. Picking out bits and pieces from his prop boxes, he rummages through the audience to to find new puppets to play with. The resulting sketches are equally bizarre and brilliant, as audience members and shoes become The Jackson 5.

Blurring the lines between two realities, the narrative laces the laugh-out-loud moments with a dark undercurrent. It's like if Derren Brown, Charlie Chaplin and Edgar Allan Poe got high and wrote a show: mad, macabre and magical.

Playing at the Garrick before touring across Europe, the production is an eclectic mix both in genre and content. Incorporating clowning, mime, puppetry and pop, it harkens back to the days of silent films and speaks to the present. This isn't just a performance or sketch show; there's a play, a whole narrative weaving together what would otherwise be non sequitur skits.

Billed as "the very best of the Boy and much, much more", there are some unexpected surprises. A traditional clowning act of plate-spinning provides a moment of introspection, each plate representing a different thought Tape Face is trying to balance. It's a standout moment and one of the few which involves no audience members.

Some of the material, however, will be familiar to fans. Having reached the final of America's Got Talent last year, Tape Face's previous work is now more readily available. Ghost and golf are notable repeats, and while there is a dip in laughs, each audience brings with it new volunteers/victims and new energy.

The majority of the show hinges on audience participation and, unfortunately, some intimacy is lost in the vast Garrick Theatre. If you're upstairs, you might feel more removed from the action in the first half. If you're in the stalls, you will experience both fun and fear each time the house lights come up.

Although he has zero words, Sam Wills conveys a million expressions as Tape Face - albeit, many of those are feigned dismay at his helpers. His interactions with audience members are a highlight, picking out little quirks here and there in his mimicry. They're all in jest and light-hearted, playing with the audience as much or little as they are comfortable with. It's a joy to watch.

Tape Face is the artist formerly known as The Boy With Tape On His Face, and you can see why. The show evokes a sense of childlike wonder, both in actor and audience. Charming and cheeky, there's a sense of boyish wit and inventiveness. Worlds, characters and familiar faces are created from household objects. It reminds you of your youth and the days of make-believe. The finales of each act are sure to awaken your inner child, through the magic of circles.

"Children should be seen and not heard" goes the old proverb. And this is the case with this Boy. You won't hear a word pass his lips, and you'll have to see it to believe it.

Tape Face at Garrick Theatre until 23 July

Picture credit: Mat Ricardo