‘The Mentalists’ is set in a hotel room in North London
where we are acquainted with Ted, who is a middle manager for an industrial
cleaning syndicate is obsessed with the work of American psychologist, BF
Skinner. Ted, at present is going through some tough times with his matrimonial
as he has an almighty argument with his wife as he persistently lies to her
about his whereabouts. To generate his promotional video, Ted’s friend, Morrie
a camp hairdresser is responsible for the filming and editing of the material,
conversely Morrie is concerned by Ted’s frame of mind, but he identifies with
Ted as Morrie has faced some of the similar childhood traumas. Over the course
of the performance, Ted has not paid for the rental of the hotel room and both
Ted and Morrie are frequently interrupted by the hotel staff as Ted’s credit
cards are maxed out. When Morrie says that he can be paid at a later date, Ted
is adamant that he’ll pay his friend first before he pays for anything else.
Ted and Morrie’s relationship is incalculably heart-warming as we can see how
their difficult upbringings have affected them in different behaviours as
Morrie is quite tranquil compared to Ted who is fundamentally disturbed and not
on this planet whatsoever. The filming and staging of the marketing video aggravates
Ted as it is not up to the standard required for it to be publicised and even when
Morrie offers his own creative ideas, they are completely dismissed by Ted as
he is fixated by what is inside his own head.
When the police arrive outside the hotel room, Morrie is understandably alarmed
by their appearance and Ted soon admits that he has murdered a homeless man and
the police have of course come to arrest him for his crimes. At the finale,
there is a tender moment when Ted is given a haircut by Morrie before Ted has
to face his fate and after Ted has his hair washed by Morrie; Ted soon departs
the room to face his demons. Bean’s narrative is particularly diverting as the
two-hander approach advocates how people have ridiculous ideas on what can make
the world a better place, plus the dialogue and one liners are streaming
through Ted and Morrie’s connection.
One found the performances by the microscopic company of, ‘The
Mentalists’ to be wittily characterised through fitting vocal delivery from Zabarajad
Salam and movement accomplishment. Stephen Merchant is lovely as the anti-hero,
Ted; expressly how bothered he is in terms of what his future holds and that
his nature can be at times strange and abnormal, as well as, because this is
Merchant’s theatrical debut he has done a spiffing job indeed. Also the
character’s crazy presence is very appealing to observe. Steffan Rhodri is
superlative as the camp hairdresser, Morrie; exclusively how surprising it is
to learn that the character is in fact a heterosexual male with feminine
qualities, then again, he comes across immensely mature and artistic in terms
of what camera angles would be effective for the video.
Abbey Wright’s direction is gratifying here as we are taken
on an expedition of a self-obsessed man’s principals and methods in founding a society
which is incomprehensible and Wright compliments this through tremendous camaraderie
by both Merchant and Rhodri. Richard Kent’s design is pleasing to the eye as
the shocking décor of the budget hotel room portrays how under-prepared Ted is
at his quest for self-worth, in addition to this the scenic construction and
scenic art elements of the set is wonderful detailed. Likewise, David Plater’s
lighting design and Ben and Max Ringman’s sound designs and composition contributes
to a highly fruitful design team which is splendid to witness. Overall, the experience
of, ‘The Mentalists’ was a vastly effective one and a definite grand choice for
a summer production.
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