An Audience with Jimmy Savile, Park Theatre **

I'm not overly sure what to think of this production. I saw the second preview, the afternoon before press-night in a noticeably less than full auditorium. I didn't feel like a play dramatising this subject was unwise or too soon to be done but felt that it needed to be executed perfectly and come from an original perspective to carry off this huge feat. It is safe to say that this production doesn't quite achieve that. It tells the story of Savile through two separate narratives. The first a TV show in the style of This is your life which takes us through the work of Savile whilst the other follows a fictional character called Lucy, a victim of Savile, who is seeking for justice. I love Brendan O'Hea's acting work at the Globe but find his direction doesn't capture the drama or atrocities so that a striking play just feels surprisingly bland. Maitland's script sheds no new perspective on the case and seems slightly formulaic at times. Even McGowan's Savile occasionally felt like he was doing an imitation. However, at other times, his does capture the complexities and the menace of the man, especially in the final scenes. .Leah Whitaker's Lucy is fantastically played, showing the grief, anger and terror of Savile's crimes. It is played sensitively yet doesn't let that comprimise the piece. The other actors make the most of what are quite poorly written and developed characters who help the audience try to comprehend how these disturbing acts were covered up. I admire the brave and courageous programming from the Park theatre to have shown a play this daring, I think that this needed more time for a better script to be written and for a better produced piece to be formed.