Review: Adam Riches Puts A Dazzling Spin On The Sports Biopic In 'Jimmy'

Exiting the theatre across the stage floor at the end of 'Jimmy', you look down to see a Jackson Pollock of sweat streaks and globules — a reminder of the visceral feat of mental and physical theatre you've just witnessed.

Comedian and actor Adam Riches has dabbled in sports before now; a decade ago his jock-tastic comedy Coach Coach ripped into hokey basketball/baseball/football movies of the 80s and 90s, but Jimmy — in which he (quite literally) launches himself into the role of tennis' original bad boy, Jimmy Connors — is an altogether more fleshed-out beast.

Connors is introduced as a man who only quotes himself; the precursor to tennis' rock star era of massive hair and expletive-laden digs at the umpire; a "one-man Hollywood movie". Indeed we've been served plenty of well-received on-screen tennis biopics in recent years — Borg vs McEnroe, Battle of the Sexes, King Richard — but Riches' extraordinary single-set monologue puts an entirely new spin on the concept.

He whisks us through his hero's rough-but-loving upbringing (tapping at intervals into the voices of his mom and 'two-mom'), the cosmic rise to fame, the tussle to stay on top — and the universal sense that there is always something to hold on for. He serves, swerves, skips, stretches throughout in a ballsy ballet — the audience sucked into playing not just theatregoers, but tennis spectators. Boundaries are blurred: are we cheering on Connors or Riches here? It doesn't matter.

Soundtracked by tumbling Whiplash-esque drums — lending a cacophonous, fibrillating rhythm — Jimmy is a draining yet exhilarating play, hitting miles above anything that might be considered mere gimmickry. This is sharp writing, method acting and an exhausting workout — with added crowd work to boot. "I've got to do this for a month..." Riches pants to an audience member at one point, while catching his breath.

If he's not careful, he'll be doing it on the West End for three years.

Jimmy, Park Theatre, Finsbury Park, until 26 July