Woodrow Auditions Live played at the 2024 Wanstead Fringe. Review by Camille Leadbeater.
Fresh from a stint at Edinburgh Fringe, Woodrow has come to London to continue his pursuit towards stardom. The only thing standing in his way? Nailing the auditions and actually landing the role.
As the audience queued to enter the makeshift theatre upstairs at The Bull, each was handed an ‘Audition Report Card’ on which we were to score Woodrow’s auditions out of five. A few were also made ‘friends’ and ‘directors’. This was only the start of plenty more audience participation to come.
I don’t believe there’s a risk of me giving too much away, as part of the nature of this show lies in its endless adaptability. No two performances are ever quite the same – and the best of the Fringe shows play on this, working with their audience and delighting in bouncing off of them.
Woodrow, played by writer director Marissa Landy, was certainly skilled at this, by the end we were all very much on his side, rooting for him to land his dream job.
For the hour run time, we follow Woodrow ‘also known as Woody, Wood, Woo’ etc.. a loveable, slapstick caricature of an older and rather out-of-date gentlemen, Woodrow really is an unstoppable powerhouse. We see him transform from a salesman, a newsreader, a cowboy – to Santa Claus himself. A highlight has to be his little digs at Wanstead culture. Our Makers Market, he warns, with its ‘olives more expensive than [his] left toe’ will leave us as over-fed, and overly content.
Credit to Baloney Productions for this delightfully immersive show. This one is great for some light-hearted comic relief. A bit of silliness, as Woodrow proves, is nothing but a good thing. One has to admire his resilience in the face of rejection, and his non-stop determination against castings, directors, fellow actors and the like. He shuffles across the stage with endless energy and bundles of fun and frivolity.
All I’m thinking now is – what could be next for Woodrow? Something tells me this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of him.