‘Coffin Up’, this year’s Fringe offering from the village idiots, revolves around an undertaker unfortunate enough to live in Britain’s healthiest village. Money’s tight and the bailiff’s chasing him, and as he searches for a solution to his strife, a darkly comic tale conveyed by masked performers via music and mime unwinds. The play doesn’t quite achieve its full potential as certain sections are flat and excessively long, while potentially hilarious scenes—such as the one in which the assistant deals with a pesky corpse—feel hurried, giving the performance an off-kilter quality. That said, the masks were great and there were enough enjoyable comical moments for ‘Coffin Up’ to offer a pleasantly light-hearted hour despite its morbid subject-matter.
Pleasance Dome, 3 – 29 Aug (not 10, 17), 1.30pm (2.30pm), £7.50 – £9.50, fpp251.
tw rating 3/5
[lm]
Sections: by Lisa McNally - ED2011 Theatre Reviews - tw rating 3/5 | Tags: The Pleasance, The Village Idiots
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