The Nap. Manhattan Theatre Club production at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, New York. October 2018.
The Nap, recently opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway, will certainly keep you awake. This new play from One Man, Two Guvnors playwright Richard Bean isn’t about sleep, but rather snooker, the British version of billiards.
More specifically, it follows a young snooker pro named Dylan whose entire life is about the sport. With a world championship coming up in his hometown of Sheffield, his wacky family gets involved in a match-fixing scheme to make some money. What ensues is a comedy with some great one-liners and a surprise twist.
The play is anchored by the game itself when, in Act II, a real snooker game is played live on stage. With the rising tide of online sports streaming outlets such as ESPN+ and Fox Sports Go, The Nap parodies lesser known sporting events with two voiceover announcers delivering hilarious commentary. The announcers are simply voiceovers, but lines such as “to explain the game for those on a canoe in Tahiti…” double as helpful explanations as well as priceless comedy, similar to the broadcasters in the movie Dodgeball.
The playing of a live match adds a level of suspense, since nothing is guaranteed with the cast having to hit balls perfectly. It helps the Dylan’s opponent is played by Ahmed Aly Elsayed, an actual worldwide snooker champion. The two snooker scenes played on stage are certainly where The Nap excels.
Leading the cast is Ben Schnetzer, who authentically portrays Dylan Spokes with a spot-on accent, and some excellent snooker skills. The female lead is played by the appealing Heather Lind who has to show a couple different sides to her personality. Stealing the show are two supporting actors, Max Gordon Moore who portrays an over the top manager and Alexandra Billings who plays a cunning transgender woman named Waxy Bush. Both command attention with their stage presence and delivery.
Richard Bean’s new play doesn’t quite equal his previous work One Man, Two Guvnors but it certainly gives us plenty of wacky comedy. A talented cast and the original theatrical topic of snooker pulls you in to make for an entertaining night of comedy at The Nap.