I once stayed at a small hotel at the same time as a world-famous rugby team, the New Zealand All-Blacks ( not a racial reference ) . I observed first-hand that professional-caliber rugby players come in three sizes: some are 6Ɗ' tall, some are 6Ɗ' wide and some are 6Ɗ' tall AND 6Ɗ' wide.
The actors in Up 'n' Under are not nearly that size, nor are they supposed to be; the characters they portray represent lower-level amateur rugby in the north of England, where pubs sponsor teams whose members would just as soon be watching soccer on the telly and drinking their fifth pint. When local bloke Arthur Hoyle bets the farm—almost literally—that he can coach the never-won-a-match Wheatsheaf Pub crew into winning The Big Game, the play is off and running.
Utilizing plot devices familiar from The Full Monty, Rocky and similar feel-good films of underdog triumph, Up 'n' Under is a play of modest dramatic and thematic ambitions. It's physical theater first and foremost that demands military drill precision, especially in the Act II Big Game action sequences. They are the play's high point, with a clever coup de theatre in which the same small cast plays both Our Heroes and their opponents. Directed by Rob Chambers, this production succeeds on that level of intense physical discipline, which only will become smoother and tighter as the run continues.
But the high points end there. The rest of Up 'n' Under—all that precedes The Big Game—is thin and predictable. The ensemble cast is ingratiating and takes a very good stab at the difficult North Country dialect, but they aren't given much with which to work. Playwright John Godber barely sketches in the characters, so their appeal rests on the charm of the players rather than on character exposition. Godber also throws in a purely decorative lone female who owns the local gym. Lacking any romantic twist, what she contributes to the plot could have been done by a fella' just as well. The company does an adequate job with what they have, although Chambers and crew clearly have focused on nailing down the physical stuff first. Top acting honors go to stalwart Andrew J. Pond ( who looks like a rugby player ) as bet-maker Hoyle and Stephen Loch as Phil, a schoolteacher by day. It's not coincidental that they have more character material than the others.
Up 'n' Under probably is too British for U.S. viewers. On opening night, I was the only one laughing at a joke about a budgie ( Brit slang for a parakeet ) . You don't even learn much about rugby, that seemingly ruleless game of male ass-grabbing. Typical of its genre, its appeal is slacker charm and bittersweet triumph.
Playwright: John Godber, At: Circle Theatre ( Forest Park ) , Phone: 708-771-0700; $24, Runs through: Oct. 21
