Review: The Johnny Eck and Dave Toole Show

The Johnny Eck and Dave Toole Show explores the tale of two men, both born with lower limbs which never fully formed. This resulted in them living some of their lives in wheelchairs, but most of their lives on their incredibly able arms. The late Eck was an American freak show performer, and occasional Hollywood movie star, while Toole is a Leeds-born dancer, choreographer and star of the opening ceremony of London’s Paralympic Games.

There’s an overriding question this show seems to pose: are people with disabilities really treated differently today?

Providing us with food for thought is Slung Low’s delivery, which uses the Tiltyard of the Royal Armouries to host the staging, along with headphones which relay the dialogue from 30 feet away. It’s difficult to see what this staging adds to this otherwise engaging narrative (most of it might easily have been squeezed into the Playhouse’s Courtyard Theatre) and you feel distanced from a story which ought to be more intimate.

Royal Armouries

To April 27