Matthew Sharp in... Johnny's Midnight Goggles

Review by Evan Beswick | 18 Aug 2009

"It's just a bit of pre-show music; carry on chatting" says Matthew Sharp, as the audience files in. "Get to know each other – it'll help when I start climbing all over you."

It's not what you'd expect from the enthusiastic man with the cello. But, then again, little of what occurs over the next hour — as Sharp relays the story of his trip to the fantastical realm of Takrilakastan to rescue Johnny, the owner of the titular midnight goggles, saving the world from an eternity of enslavement and drudgery in the process — is particularly expected.

In fact, this isn't as far-fetched as it sounds: there's relevance for modern neo-liberalism here, and an opening scene involving a worker driving home in his car is replayed at the end, binding the piece together, and troubling the apparently cosy split between our world and the fantasy one. But you'll get no further spoilers here – because Sharp's account is far more engaging than mine. Put simply, this is storytelling at its most inventive and engaging.

On the face of it, Sharp has only a cello, a single costume change (well, a coat), some lights and some sound. But Sharp's skill is in bringing these to life; in taking the nuts and bolts of his stage and transforming them into an immersive, dramatic unfolding. With absolute commitment, a wonderfully expressive face, a superb vocal range, virtuoso cello technique (as it transpires, Sharp is, indeed, a recording artist), and boundless enthusiasm, Sharp combines opera, musicals, poetry and prose to produce something truly unique here.

If this performance is anything to go by, the oral storytelling tradition has taken a leap forward – and Sharp is leading the way.