Set in 1992, Terry Johnston’s Dead Funny
is a nostalgic celebration of what is considered to be the golden age of
British television comedy, through the imagined antics of the members of the
Dead Funny Society, a group that celebrate the work of comedians such as
Frankie Howerd, Morcambe & Wise and Tommy Cooper.
The main plot line and the principal
focus of the first third of the play is the relationship between Ellie
(Katherine Parkinson) and her husband, Richard (Rufus Jones), the head of the
society. It is established from the offset that the couple are having problems,
and whilst this is slowly and silently destroying Ellie, Richard would rather
continue with life, completely avoiding the subject and their lack of
connection. Richard's refusal to touch his wife and his declarations of
celibacy are consistently underpinned by Ellie's witty sarcasm, and this set-up
provokes laugh after laugh and creates the conflict that pushes the narrative
forward.
The deterioration of Eleanor and
Richard's relationship is intertwined with the death of comedian Benny Hill and
the party that Richard's beloved Dead Funny Society hold to commemorate his
life. Through the Dead Funny Society, we are introduced to three further
characters, Brian (Steve Pemberton), their camp friend who assumes a role that
you’d expect of an endearing uncle, and Nick (Ralf Little) and Lisa (Emily
Berrington), a couple with a newly born baby, who are similarly dealing with
their own marital problems.
Whilst this set-up has the potential to
incorporate three further interesting and complex characters, Johnston's script
only gives Ellie and Brian development or depth, and the other three are more
simply sketched out as stock characters.
The first act is very much a comedy. The
array of successful one-liners and very dry humour present an hour or so of
dialogue that could happily sit in a British television sitcom. But as the play
progresses, Johnston begins to mix in further comic forms such as slapstick
moments, which clearly and fondly pastiche some of the classic British styles
and comedians that the society so devotedly worship.
In fact, as the second act begins and
the party scene is in full swing (or perhaps failing to swing), the four
society members nostalgically re-enact a number of their heroes' infamous
sketches, a device that works surprisingly well.
These sketches become moments of light
relief as this comedy quickly and quite unexpectedly turns to tragedy. Ellie's
sarcastic comments become the cry of a deeply unhappy woman, and more twists
and turns in the plot reveal further surprises from all of the characters.
The contrast between this seriousness
and the slapstick comedy that culminates with an impressive food fight is
largely successful, although the second act does begin to drag, and you do find
yourself wishing they'd all tell each other what's going on a little sooner.
In spite of this rather round-a-bout way
of reaching the conclusion, the ending is strong, and one that nicely ties up
the loose ends, whilst still remaining faithful to its established comic tones.
Huge thanks to Theatre Bloggers
and Stagedoor app
for making this review possible. You can catch Dead Funny at the Vaudeville
Theatre until 4th February 2017.
*I was gifted this ticket in exchange
for a review but all words and opinions are my own.
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