Kneebone Cadillac by Wildworks Review: Visit the ‘territories’ of Cornwall for a night out

For all those who miss the quaint Cornish charms of the Kneehigh Theatre, whose closure sent shockwaves through the arts world three years ago, fear not. Their roiling spirit of anarchy, mayhem and downright stupidity is alive and well this week thanks to a sister company of sorts, Wildworks.

In a first for the company, which has a history of staging huge spectacles in unusual locations (mines, shipyards, stately homes, entire cities), Wildworks took over a corner of United Downs Raceway, the stock car racetrack that continued. for 55 years and, after fighting off the threat of closure, recently had its lease extended by Cornwall Council.

There was only one location for The Kneebone Cadillac, a profane comedy by Truro-based Carl Grose, which was developed at Kneehigh and first broadcast as a Radio 4 play in 2011. Carl’s dream was always stage the play where it is based. , at United Downs, and thanks to track boss Crispin Rosevear, it became a reality.

Read more: The world’s biggest bands haven’t heard of Eden Project’s murder

Read more: Suede prove they’re even better after 30 years at stunning Eden concert

In short, it’s the story of the Kneebone Slick siblings, Dwight and Maddy, who have a major meltdown when their junkyard owner father, Jed, shocks everyone by leaving his beloved 1958 Cadillac Eldorado to his only daughter. Rather than cash in on the prized but damaged car – which may or may not have once belonged to Elvis Presley – feisty Maddy is determined to get it back on the road and take on all comers in the United Downs Boneshaker stock car race from what is described as the “badlands” of Cornwall.

It all gets a bit chaotic after that – ghosts, Mancunian drug lords, talking rocks, Clint Eastwood and some good old rock ‘n’ roll all play their part, as does the United Downs racetrack itself (with a few lines pretty reality-based when the actual failed plans for a geothermal rum distillery on the site are given short shrift).

Get the best stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox every day. Choose what you want Here.

It’s got all the ingredients that made us love Kneehigh – the dirty underbelly of Cornwall where we’ll talk about the underdog, a bit of social commentary, laugh-out-loud comedy and infectious songwriting.

There are familiar faces too – Giles King, the grandfather of Kernow’s Texans, playing both the scorned patriarch and mechanic Hooper Munro, Ben Dyson, brilliantly stupid as Slick Kneebone and the Texan millionaire Duke Longhorne, and Hannah Stephens, a joy as always as the heroine. Maddy.

Katy Owen, the Welsh pocket dynamo who has provided so much of the physical comedy in the Kneehigh shows of recent years, is at it again as Phyllis Vanloo, a racing legend who has had to be rebuilt following a cataclysmic accident. Her Tina Turner on amphetamines transforms as young Phyllis alongside the shaky and broken older Phyllis are both marvels to behold.

Throw in Josh Penrose as hopeless younger siblings Dwight and Hannah McPake, as various characters, including dead mother Kneebone (alongside musician Alex Heane), and it’s another winning cast.

Ingeniously designed, this great little show – directed by another Cornish theater superstar, Kyla Goodey – is a throwback to all those core productions that Kneehigh used to produce alongside their major West End and touring shows, which you can soak in of laughter in a village hall or church pew.

The Kneebone Cadillac is a very funny and swear-filled reminder that nowhere in the world does theater like Cornwall. Zoom in at United Downs, but put your foot down because you only have until Sunday, July 14 to see it, and many of the shows are sold out. Go here for more details and to book.