Swimming with Sharks rips the romance out of Hollywood – it takes the dreams and naïve ideals of a young and hopeful writer, gives them a grope to find out what they’re worth in hard cash and then puts them up for sale. It’s a man-eat-man world in LA and you have to talk fast and think quick if you’re going to make it among the sharks.
The young hopeful is Guy. He’s a fresh, eager recruit straight from college and he’s landed the prestigious role of PA to Buddy Ackerman (played by Christian Slater). Personal Assistant, with the emphasis on the “personal”; Guy’s job is to pander to Buddy’s every whim - everything from making him coffee to duping babyfaced would-be actresses into sleeping with him. Buddy is not an easy man to please, either, so when Guy gets caught between his boss, his first love and the opportunity for fame and fortune, it really is an all or nothing situation.
Anyone who’s seen the film will know that the plot of Swimming With Sharks is a spaghetti junction of crosses and double-crosses. The shifting of fate and the cunning manipulation of expectations keeps the audience teetering in the balance all the way through, always wondering what’s truth and what’s just LA baloney with a Hollywood wrapper on the tin. Despite the tension, though, this showbiz play is all about the showmanship. The wise-cracking dialogue between Buddy and Guy goes at a hundred-to-the-dozen pace and keeps the audience tittering with witty topical references and belly-laughing at the sheer perversity of Buddy’s attitude to life (and, of course, Guy).
There can be few people treading the West End boards who know the slimy innards of Hollywood as well as Christian Slater. After a long and successful film career he must have met a dozen “Buddys” and a hundred “Guys”. So it’s not surprising that he plays his part to perfection - a consummate actor in a role that’s hardly a great stretch of his imaginative faculties. British rose, Helen Baxendale, who we all know “off the telly” (most memorably in Cold Feet) is also extremely well cast and plays the subtle role of the love interest, Dawn, with skill. She’s endearing, but still enigmatic which is crucial to the plot.
It’s quite fitting that the only relative-unknown is Matt Smith who plays the eager young puppy, Guy. It’s a big part alongside some very big names; the pressure to perform is pretty much at top notch, but perform he does. Smith is loveable, bumbling, gutsy, honest and shrewd. Everything the part needs, he has in spades.
So, will you like it? It’s worth mentioning that the double-crossing play will even double-cross you: the pace and energy of the dialogue could fool you into thinking that it’s going to be a light-hearted sit-com-like cruise. But, just when you’re getting comfortable with your interval tub of minstrels, the play shifts drastically and takes you completely unawares into uncharted territory. So, if you’re hoping for a candyfloss farce, keep looking. You’ll love Swimming with Sharks if you love thrillers. To use movies (loosely) as comparison, it’s a bit like Private Benjamin meets Devil’s Advocate meets L.A. Confidential… that might seem like quite a claim, but in Hollywood anything goes.
Buy tickets to see Swimming With Sharks from £17.50
(price correct at time of post but subject to change)
Check out Christian Slater's video blog for the show.
Sara Sha'ath
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