Review by Euan Rose of The Bromsgrove Standard.

MIKE Venables is a unique one-man fringe theatre actor who has been writing, producing and performing his own work for several years now. His latest show ‘Exit Pursued By My Past’ premiered to a packed house at the MAC theatre in Birmingham last night.

Venables has created a new character, one Rafe Blackthorne, a would be matinee idol who has spent his whole life treading the boards but narrowly avoiding fame.

Over 90 glorious minutes, Blackthorne takes us on a journey of his life – playing a number of roles including his father, his best friend, his agent, his rival and his long-term girlfriend. This is a storytelling format Venables has done before but the big difference here is that his writing seems to have come of age – in that s he joins up all the dots to create a complete journey rather than a more random series of characters and events.

It’s also a whodunit – or rather ‘who’s about to do it;’ opening with a resigned-to-his-fate Rafe Blackthorne with his wrists tied together in a burning theatre. One of the characters we meet over his life story has planned his murder but we’ll have to wait till the end to find out who. Thankfully It’s well worth the wait though.

It’s simply but cleverly staged with just an arm chair and a table’ it’s well lit with a nice touch of Blackthorne calling to the lighting gallery for the scene changes.

Rafe Blackthorne may well become to Mike Venables what Mr Bean has become to Rowan Atkinson – not as a buffoon of course but more an alter ego of himself – a suave, sophisticated old school actor whose company is. a joy.