This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub: https://www.thereviewshub.com/captain-amazing-southwark-playhouse-borough-london/

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Alistair McDowall’s acclaimed one-man show Captain Amazing follows Mark, a part-time B&Q worker, and part-time caped crusader, in a charmingly written and empathetic piece.

In just over an hour, Mark navigates threats to his existence both in the real world and in his fantasies as the eponymous superhero. Father to an increasingly inquisitive Emily, Mark finds himself caught at a crossroads as threats to his fatherhood, and his superhero powers, converge. The audience arrives to see Mark sitting on a red chair amid a blank stage, and it soon becomes clear that Mark’s superhero alter-ego is a cover for the psychological challenges he faces as a father and as a man. The piece twists and turns through heart-wrenching moments, navigating some of life’s most beautiful and most devastating moments.

Mark Weinman, who plays Mark, is simply superb in this role. This is an exhausting one-man production, where Weinman not only takes on the role of Mark / Captain Amazing but also over a dozen other characters ranging from an awkward B&Q customer to Amazing’s dastardly nemesis Evil Man. Weinman’s ability to switch from character to character relies initially on his impressive ability to switch vocals with aplomb, leaning hard on Weinman’s extensive voice-over work, yet this is coupled with expansive movement which throws you from character to character with ease. Furthermore, Weinman’s ability to handle the piece’s comedic moments is clear, while also creating moments of significant tenderness and emotion, particularly in the play’s final 10 minutes.

Weinman’s monologue is supported by Georgia de Grey’s design. The stage is essentially bare, covered only by large, crinkled, sheets of paper which then, as the play unfolds, sees key lines etched into them in scrawling projected handwriting. Quite why it is so childlike is a little unclear, but the throwbacks to classic comic book panelling in some of the lines’ placing ties nicely to the play’s superhero focus. Will Monks’ lighting design proves effective here too, aiding Weinman in the transition from the real world to life as the caped crusader through quick flashes from naturalistic white to bright oranges, blues and reds throwing us straight into Amazing’s crime-fighting exploits. This builds to a beautifully lit crescendo, which does draw breath.

McDowall’s script, though largely impactful, does take a little while to get going, and there are some parts, such as Mark’s initial isolation and awkwardness which are only briefly discussed and seem to be more for laughs, yet by the end, each word hits harder than the ones before. What it does do, though, is allow Mark’s character to forever be its focus, and its resistance to exploring the other characters further works in its favour as we see the excitement, the tenderness and the raw pain of a man, a father, who realises that at some point, he may have to hang up his cape not just when fighting crime but for his family too.

Captain Amazing is an intense emotional journey through one man’s struggle to come to terms with his changing existence. This exploration of a man’s mental health feels fresh and engaging, and it is hard not to feel genuine pain for Mark’s character as the play, and his life, unravel. The comfort Mark gains from his red cape though, as he explains, shields him from the pain of the real world he suffers. The ability to fly becomes a central metaphor to McDowall’s play and this piece flies through its brief runtime as quickly as all superheroes, like Mark, do. It is a show that will leave you laughing and crying in equal measure.