Black Comedy, Greenside
The beauty of the fringe is seeing the legendary "concept" plays that don't get performed in the mainstream theatre anymore. Peter Shaffer's lights on/lights off piece is exactly in this mould, and this year has been tackled by a talented group from the University of Liverpool.
Special mention should go to Mark Rawle as the crusty Colonel, James Percy as the camp Harold (though his is probably the easiest part to play), and especially James Dale as struggling artist and Harry H Corbett dress-a-like Brindsley. The performers raise laughs and throw themselves into the slapstick with gusto and the set is well laid out to comic, if not aesthetic, effect.
Alas these efforts are let down by slack lighting cues and the atrocious acting of Elizabeth Ford, the one weak link in the cast. Despite the fact it ran 30 minutes longer than promised, Black Comedy represents a solid production of an oddly austere swinging 60s classic.
NTW : Nothing obvious, but the whisky was oddly clear.
JTD : A little character touch...Carol collecting a large soft toy along with her belongings when leaving.
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