ajhlovestheatre

RON

by Ted Walliker

directed by Lev Govorovski and Ted Walliker

Riverside Studios, London – until 3 July 2026

running time: 1 hour no interval 

https://riversidestudios.co.uk/whats-on/Jf-ron/

Unrequited love can do funny things to a person. If this slippery, unhinged, grimly delightful solo show is to be believed, it can drive one to jealousy, murder, cannibalism, elaborate interior design delusions while under the influence of class A drugs, McDonalds….and stand-up comedy. Although reminiscent of Jack Holden’s Cruise and Kenrex, both of which expanded the monologue form to dazzling technical and storytelling heights, and also Marcelo dos Santos’ Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen which married gay erotic disappointment to edgy stand-up, Ted Walliker’s Ted has a macabre comic sensibility that is entirely its own.

On paper, Walliker’s ubiquitous participation in the show, as writer, performer, co-director and co-designer (with Lev Govorovski), and lighting and sound creator, might seem a tad over-ambitious. In practice though, Ted turns out to be one of the most inspirational, off-the-wall displays of prodigious, singular sheer talent that I can remember in quite some time.

In the promotional materials, the show is subtitled “this is not standup”. Upon entering the theatre and seeing the single spotlit microphone, a comedy set appears to be exactly what we’re in for, an impression reinforced by Walliker’s first appearance as hapless Tony, nervily commenting on the conventions of performance and failing to land his gags. All is not entirely as it seems however, and this deliberately uncertain start belies the wild wild ride in store.

Part of Ron’s considerable power derives from how unexpected it all is, which of course makes it almost impossible to review without spoilers. Suffice to say that Walliker is a remarkable performer, turning on a dime from charming and goofy to borderline terrifying, with the comic instincts of a true clown, and an unsettling ability to present the outrageous and occasionally downright disgusting with a throwaway matter-of-factness that draws you in before leaving you reeling with shock. 

On the surface, Tony is one of life’s followers, socially awkward, perpetually aggrieved and tragically in romantic thrall to loutish Mike, his friend since the age of seven. There’s a lot more to him than that though, a lot of it deeply worrying, some of it hilarious and most of it psychopathic. 

Walliker weaves deftly between the two contrasting men as they embark on a road trip fuelled by booze, spite and misguided indignation at being served with the wrong meal at McDonalds (the eponymous Ron is the unfortunate fast food employee who bungles their order). If you can imagine Tarantino transplanted to the Home Counties you’ll have some idea of what’s going on here, but that description doesn’t convey the quirky lunacy of the humour or the unexpected, but entirely earned, moments of real poignancy. 

Nor does it do justice to the breathless brilliance of the writing. Walliker employs a selection of styles that initially seem to be working against each other – there’s comedy surreal and potty-mouthed, soap operatic angst, overblown poeticism, forensically accurate anatomical descriptions – but make total sense once you have the full picture. 

Technically, the production has a similarly scattershot feel, with complex lighting, sound and music cues, plus an elaborate visual transformation, that fully coalesce by the conclusion of sixty playful, alarming, revelatory minutes. Walliker emerges as a bright new star, his performance as appealing as it is frequently repellent, and his script as gripping as it’s strange and funny. 

Richard Gadd’s Baby Reindeer and Liz Kingsman’s One Woman Show both started out in modest formats not dissimilar to this one, before moving on to lucrative and much acclaimed further lives. Ron, though not for the squeamish, is a hell of a debut for Riverside Studios as a producing house, and fully deserves a similar level of success as those esteemed titles. It’s that good.