Grint gets back his ‘Mojo’ in Soho

First performed at the Royal Court Theatre in 1995, Mojo was writer Jez Butterworth’s debut play and was first directed by Ian Rickson. Eighteen years on, Butterworth has continued to produce new plays, in association with Rickson, including the award-winning Jerusalem. This highly-anticipated revival of Mojo, which won Best New Comedy at the Olivier Awards, reunites these collaborators with Rickson returning to direct:

‘what they both see, less as a revival, more as a new play.’

(Benedict Nightingale)

Mojo is set in 1950s Soho and depicts the underworld lifestyle of the Ezra’s Atlantic club and its employees. The characters are tested under eventually life-threatening conditions and as the situation intensifies, they begin to unravel and their true personalities are revealed, often to hilarious and, sometimes, disastrous effect.

The play opens with rising rockstar Silver Johnny (Tom Rhys Harries), in a silver suit and pink shirt, moments before he goes on stage. We hear the cheers below as Jonny executes Elvis-like moves in a near trance before running down to the stage accompanied by the sound of screams. Cue blackout and crescendo of 50s rock ‘n’ roll. It is a perfect opening, throwing the audience into the world of rock ‘n’ roll, amphetamines and slicked back hair.

This production has an all-star cast with Ben Whishaw, Brendan Coyle, Colin Morgan, Daniel Mays and Rupert Grint, the latter making his West End debut. Whishaw and Grint are arguably the big box office draws but Butterworth and Rickson have coined Daniel Mays as the lynchpin of the piece. His character, Potts, has some of the best lines of the play and Mays was perfect in the role, with brilliant comic timing and an ability to capture both the amphetamine induced highs of the character as well as his more vulnerable moments. You are continually drawn to him as he embodies the role of the self-confessed ‘c**t’.

Mays unites with Grint to create a hilarious comic duo and Grint shines as Sweets. He is on stage for almost the entire duration of the play and it was a strong stage debut. Though in his moments of fear I admittedly was reminded of Ron Weasley’s arachnophobia, his performance will go someway to establishing Grint as an actor other to his Potter alter-ego.

However, the standout performance was Ben Whishaw’s as the sociopathic Baby, which was both funny and terrifying. At times, Whishaw’s delivery reminded me of Heath Ledger’s Joker and whenever he was on stage I felt nervous, unsure but also intrigued to know what he would do next. This performance will surely provoke excitement about his upcoming presentation of Freddie Mercury on screen, a casting decision I was initially unsure about.

Mojo is foul-mouthed, violent, dark and gritty, but also very funny. At times I had tears in my eyes from laughter, but this only made the more serious and shocking aspects of the play all the more hard-hitting. Though I had been aware that the play was a black comedy, it was much funnier than I expected. One particular highlight involved an aftermath of the night before and toffee apples.

If I had any criticism of the play, it would be that it lacked explanation for the motives of the characters and backstory for how they had ended up in this violent and seedy world. Overall though, it was an utterly absorbing production whose characters created intrigue and which struck a good balance between its comedic elements and its darkness.

Mojo is playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 22 February 2014.