Oliver Reed Wild Thing

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Rob Crouch’s one-man tour de force, revealing the life of Oliver Reed in “Oliver Reed Wild Thing” at the Ambassador’s Theatre was well worth seeing. Reed’s hell-raising lifestyle and life history were portrayed in a hugely talented performance that had the audience in tears of laughter, but also wondering why such a talent as Reed left us when he did.

The story told of his early years and his entrance into the world of acting, coupled with the fact that he was a consummate drinker. Crouch was excellent in his portrayal of Reed and included moments of hilarious audience participation when a couple were called up to the stage and read lines from his infamous Johnny Carson interview with Shelley Winters. Absolute tear jerker!

The Ambassador’s Theatre was a great venue with an ornate ceiling, however, bar prices for wine was a bit on the steep side; asking for a large wine gets you two small miniature plastic bottles of not so good wine for a tenner, as wine was not poured from a proper bottle. The bar was small and not well stocked, so not a wide choice of drinks. I recommend having a drink beforehand elsewhere for this one. I’m pretty sure Reed would have agreed with me. 😉

He is a Gothic hero in the living, lusting, flesh; he smolders; a mobile furnace.