The Dead Monkey at the Fridge!

New dates:
Tuesday 23rd March
Wednesday 24th March (VIP/press/invitation only)
Thursday 25th March
Wednesday 31st March
Thursday 1st April
Wednesday 7th April
Thursday 8th April

There will be a live band and Antonio Fargas will be playing the vet. After the play and a break David, Alexa, Antonio (and special guests) will do a concert for the guests. More details directly at The Fridge, Town Hall Parade, Brixton Hill, London, SW2 1RJ. Tel: 0171-326-5100 Contact: Leo (ext.116)

A big thank you to Deb who sent this press-release to the DSAC list (this is a new one!):

TOO COOL FOR THE WEST END - THE DEAD MONKEY COMES TO THE FRIDGE

Starsky and Hutch Co Stars reunited!!!

Andrew Czezowski owner of The FRIDGE Night-club in Brixton, is pleased to announce that David Soul and Antonio Fargas will team up in The FRIDGE production of Nick Darke's bizarre black comedy and "cult hit", THE DEAD MONKEY. It will be the first time the two actors have worked together since they starred in the hit television series STARSKY AND HUTCH. Joining Soul and Fargas in the production will be America actress/producers, Alexa Hamilton.

David Soul and Alexa Hamilton, who just completed a successful ten-week run of THE DEAD MONKEY in the West End as its producers and stars, will partner with Mr Czezowski to present what they describe as 'a unique and first of its kind experiment that brings to the Brixton club scene, live theatre, together with live music'. Fargus will travel from Los Angeles to join Soul and Hamilton for rehearsals starting in February.

Joining THE DEAD MONKEY production will be Czezowski's own talented, 'in- house' creative team headed by DJ Mickey Smith and the band St Beans Religion who can be seen at Armaghetto at The Fridge every Thursday, under the musical direction of 'St Bean'.

Performances of THE DEAD MONKEY will also be followed by a series of live concerts featuring the three performers with the band. Soul has performed regularly in concert over the years, having enjoyed several chart-topping hits in the late 70's and early 80's. He is currently preparing release of a new album, LEAVE A LIGHT ON. Most recently, he and Hamilton have recorded together several songs from the score of THE DEAD MONKEY, while Fargas also has a new rap CD in release.

In the words of David Soul: "I understand that over the decades, in all of its many previous lives, the Palladium, now called the FRIDGE, has always been at the epicenter of Brixton's entertainment and cultural lifestyle. To his credit, Andrew Czezowski, in his 20 plus years as owner of the FRIDGE, has devoted considerable energy, time and money encouraging artists to investigate and realize new forms of expression. Andrew continues to contribute to the ongoing life of the community by investing in the potential of the FRIDGE beyond his already successful and popular dance operation."

ABOUT THE DEAD MONKEY?..

THE DEAD MONKEY is a biting, bizarre black comedy written by Cornwellian playwright, Nick Dark. First performed by the RSC at the Pit in 1986, it was subsequently produced to raves in Los Angeles and Washington D.C. prior to producers Soul and Hamilton presenting it in Hampstead at the New End Theatre and then at the Whitehall Theatre in London's West End in the fall of 1998.

THE DEAD MONKEY is the story of an uncommonly couple, the Wandabacks. A couple not unlike most any married couple who live next door in most any neighborhood, anywhere. They're a couple you might run into on the Jerry Springer Show or encounter in a Coen Brothers film or the Full Monty.

Years ago Hank Wandaback had promise. He was a champion, a golden-boy, a surfer who rode the waves with his pet monkey slung on his back. Dolores was a teenage beach beauty who fell for the tanned, taut-bodied 'star'. They met, fell in love and with the promise of youth and the future ahead of them, married. When the play opens, fifteen years has passed and Hank's become a burnt-out travelling salesman 'gunnin' down the freeway while Dolores is left in their 'love nest turned turdstained domestic rut' to look after and fight off the advances of the now aged monkey?..that is, until it dies.

So, what do you do when your monkey's dead?..and you still can't get him off your back? The Wandabacks are forced to face the denials, delusions, jealousies, broken dreams and miscommunications that pretty much describe a relationship that fifteen years has 'smothered in shit'. What had once symbolized the essence and the promise of their youth; what had brought them and then held them together for 15 years; the monkey, becomes the curse that would tear them apart.

Meanwhile, a third character weasels his way into this bizarre relationship. The VET (Antonio Fargas) works at the local zoo and carries out macabre assignments for the 'military-industrial complex'. He capitalizes on the personal plight of the Wandabacks and uses them in a series of Pentagon-funded experiments designed to test 'species typical (human) behavior'. A kind of Mephistilian manipulator, the Vet introduces a variety of new elements?..new tricks and other vain hopes?..into Hank and Dolores's fragile existence and then, when the Wandabacks take the bait and react, he stands back coldly and records the resulting violence.

THE DEAD MONKEY is the poignant cry of ordinary people desperately searching for ways to live together, day to day. It's also a scathing indictment of those institutions that while claiming to make the world a better place to live, betray us all by placing expediency, power and their own self-interests ahead of everything else. As Hank might say, 'Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean nobody's after me'. In this case, he's right; although the final outcome and its consequences are left in his hands.

In the words of David Soul: 'This production of THE DEAD MONKEY brings three seasoned professional actors together with some of the most exciting musical talent in Brixton or anywhere in Britain. And not only is THE DEAD MONKEY coming into a venue?..it's coming into the community. We're looking forward to meeting and getting to know the neighbors and we hope to cut through some of the walls that have unnecessarily separated theatre and art from the club scene and the theatre-goer from the clubber. Inclusivity is the name and the FRIDGE is the game. What a brilliant place to give birth to a new idea.

The West End was O.K., but playing THE DEAD MONKEY in the West End was a bit like trying to sing over the choir. Don't do anything different and don't break any new ground; if you can't fit the mould, don't rock the boat. Because it is a place mostly closed to fresh ideas, the West End isn't building new audiences. THE DEAD MONKEY is great entertainment; it's bizarre, black, cutting edge comedy. It'll make you laugh, make you cry and ultimately make you think. It's definitely alternative theatre and we think the FRIDGE is the right place to seriously 'monkey around' and introduce cinema-lovers and clubbers to great theatre mixed with great music.

My co-producer, Alexa and I are absolutely delighted that Andrew's invited us to Brixton and we're going to do our damndest to create an event that will resonate in the community. THE DEAD MONKEY was too cool for the West End, so moving it to the FRIDGE is a natural. And what could be cooler than being back with Antonio Fargas after twenty years? Now that's cool!'