Old habits die hard, and some harder than others. These are certainly resounding words for Arty, the central character of Beached. Plagued by an addiction for food, he is the world’s fattest teenager, weighing in at a whopping 67 stone. Moving up from Kent to the glitzy lights of Soho Theatre, Melissa Bubnic’s satirical play is a lightweight but enjoyable skit, exploring our ravenous media culture and its often exploitative nature.

We open with Arty, played brilliantly by James Dryden, sat atop a towering throne centre stage. His kingdom, a principality of KFC packets, pizza boxes and cream cake tins which litter the stage, testament to his impressively insatiable appetite. Wanting only to be “normal”, Arty is taking part with his overbearing mother in reality TV documentary Shocking Fat Stories, with the promise of a life-saving gastric bypass at the end. Every moment of his life, from falling in love to undignified flatulence, is captured by rolling cameras, directed by a cut-throat set producer keen to show only the most shocking TV moments for want of ratings.

The play has a very familiar and zeitgeist-y quality with its portrayal of reality TV. There is an undeniable draw to shows which showcase the spectacular amongst us, be it the world’s fattest teenager or more recently Channel 4’s Benefits Street. What we perhaps fail to realise is the tendency these shows have to entirely misrepresent their subjects. Dressed up as an effort to help Arty carve a new life for himself, the play’s documentary is more of a show trial of the morbidly obese, shown to be greedily sapping on life’s resources for their own hedonistic fulfilment. Bubnic’s criticism of the power of the media is a weighty one to make; one that I fear weighs a little too heavy on the play’s more upbeat and trivial tone.

The play is an incredible set piece. Every corner of the stage is filled with one food wrapper or another, making for a gastronomic sea that undulates around Arty, beached by his uncontrollable addiction. The attention to detail is impressive and would not look out of place in a Wes Anderson film, renowned for their clockwork like meticulousness. One scene in which Arty dreams longingly about the future, he plucks a vintage suitcase from the surrounding carnage, only to turn it round to reveal a beautiful doll’s house cut out and assembled inside it. An impressive use of lighting that is used to create a night-time cityscape from towers of food boxes is a real spectacle to behold.

With some great comedic moments and capable performances, Beached is a fun and often touching night’s entertainment. Despite losing its way under the gravity of its critical focus, the play has something important to say and gives it its best shot. It just slightly lacks the necessary clout and gusto to make it into the thought-provoking piece it is trying to be.

Beached is playing at Soho Theatre until 23 November. For more information and tickets, see the Soho Theatre website. Photo by Tim Stubbings.