Review: The Fastest Clock in the Universe, Old Red Lion Theatre

I didn’t realise what a brilliant playwright Philip Ridley is until I saw the revival of Mercury Fur last year. It is hard to realise from this production that the Fastest Clock was written 21 years ago. Joshua Blake is totally convincing as the preening, youth obsessed, central character, Cougar Glass, and Ian Houghton presents a perfect foil as the doting older man, Captain Tock. Throw in the excellent Dylan Llewellyn as 15 year old Foxtrot Darling and the play takes off. It’s not as violent as Mercury Fur where I sat in the front row and got splattered in blood (luckily the fake stuff from joke shops that disappears shortly afterwards) but it’s violent enough, the drama is as tense and it is wickedly funny. If you have never seen any of Ridley’s plays then you must see this. Grab it on a Sunday and it’s only a tenner: fantastic value!

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