Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2006

Black Comedy

Venue: C Chambers St (3rd floor)

“Black Comedy” is a very funny play about the worst night in a person’s life. Brinsley is having a famous millionaire over to hopefully buy one of his paintings and rocket him onto the roller coaster of fame. He also has his fiancée’s father visiting him for the first time (a retired military man) and his fiancée. The play starts with the revelation that all of the nice furniture has been ‘borrowed’ from a friend in the same block of flats to give the impression of class. Then the fuse goes and all is plunged into darkness (you’ll have to see for yourself how this is effected, as I don’t wish to spoil the surprise).

Once the lights have gone, we get another flatmate coming over as she is afraid of the dark. Then Brinsley’s girlfriend (whoops) rings to say she’s back from her hols and will be coming over tonight. Then we have the furnitureless friend coming back early and being in a ‘bit of a mood’. So Brinsley now has to get all the furniture back before his friend discovers it had been borrowed as well as keeping his girlfriends apart while trying to impress an eccentric millionaire. It gets so bad that having the lights come back would be a worse tragedy that anything else, and the finale makes the title seem so appropriate.

The cast to a very good job in their roles of people stumbling around in the dark, and there are laughs aplenty both from the lines as well as of the slapstick variety. If you want to see a two timing man get exactly what he deserves, then this is the one that’ll satisfy you.

For booking details go to Black Comedy