An Awesome Exit is a parody and retelling of that most excellent film The Great Escape. All the characters are present and correct, and Early Doors, the company behind this, has a long track record of bringing shows to the Fringe. However, this production felt under-rehearsed, dragged in places, and was just not funny enough. Admittedly, it was their first night, but there were no technical issues and the company seemed confident.
Good parody is extremely challenging. To present a successful one, your love for the source material must shine through and, by the end, ideally enhance and celebrate it. This show felt more like it was mocking the film, and used too many modern songs and references that pulled us out of the world of The Great Escape. The German guards were played as fools, which removed any sense of threat and left the plot lacking edge. The physical theatre aspects weren’t tight or slick enough—there was too much shuffling around and not enough inventive or sharp movement.
An Awesome Exit, written by Justin Cartledge (who also played McQueen), was overwritten, with too many jokes that didn’t land. The recurring gag about ‘Dickie’—“Oh! Am I showing?”—wasn’t strong enough to justify its repetition. At times, the timing was off, so some gags didn’t land, or they were so overplayed they fizzled out. A few jokes felt dated, such as the portrayal of a macho character in a dress, which felt out of place and could be interpreted as insensitive. It was a digression from the film and seemed shoehorned in. The script would benefit from a serious cut to bring out its true comic potential.
There were some great characterisations—Ben Martins captured the tone and stance of the ‘scrounger’ perfectly and never overplayed it. Cartledge also gave a solid performance as the cooler king McQueen and the Aussie. There was limited use of the audience and some tongue-in-cheek references, but not enough to elevate the show. Overall, it felt very amateur and brought to mind a student production put together for fun.
The cast seemed to be enjoying themselves, and the audience appreciated the silliness, but An Awesome Exit had so much potential and failed to jump that fence.
