This performance is a ticklish take on the talks that sit under the TED umbrella. What shelters there is often disappointingly banal, but we at BATS Stage are soon set up for a decided departure from banality.

We’re greeted by Ted, a self-confessed gangster, New York style. He’s dapper, elegantly dressed, and athletic. His job? To collect protection money, a nasty job he admits. On his latest one, a chance comment from his victim results in his becoming a conscience-stricken criminal, obsessed with creating a legacy.

With such an unlikely preface, we are somewhat prepared for the subsequent action. We meet fellow gangsters Slippery Jo, Corleone and Gonzo and we get to hear just what form Ted’s self-imposed task of penance is going to take. He is spurred on by a rumour heard in a milk bar (ever heard of a mobster hanging out in one?) and is on his way.

At this point, there is a flashback enlightening us on our man’s childhood in Sicily where an encounter with the Don is to prove decisive. Not for the first time, we find ourselves laughing involuntarily at something that’s not funny. Touches of black comedy are not out of place here. 

As well as maintaining the appropriate accent, Jeremy Hunt, writer (with dramaturg Ricky Dey) and performer, enthrals with his physicality and athleticism. Not only does he take on all the other characters – most notably that of a cop – but once he reaches his unlikely destination where the denouement is about to take place, his physical hijinks become ever more comical. The plot to create his so-called legacy by making amends for his crimes climaxes amid a marriage ceremony, gangsters in piles – and a piece of fruit.  

Everyone involved with this production is to be congratulated: the writer and performer (Hunt), as well as Director Emma Katene, Composition & Sound Designer (Ben Kelly), Lighting and Set Designed (Kate Anderson). It’s easy to see why this is already an award-winning production. Better than a TED talk any day.

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