Despite claims online that the creatives involved in the “disgraceful” How To Kill Your Landlord should “be banned and also arrested for hate crime,” the show has held on, excelled, and continues to play in the Bedlam Theatre until the end of its run. It is a hilarious and well-done black comedy about the rental market and the situation of many tenants across the UK – a particularly meaningful play to perform in Edinburgh, where a housing crisis has been building for some time.
Harriet, Burke, and Joq are all flatmates in an extremely rundown flat owned by Archie. After Archie demands they move out (and kills vegan Harriet’s pet fox), the three of them decide to take matters into their own hands and kill their landlord. What follows is a series of comic errors and a great deal of slapstick comedy. The script is sound and all three of the main characters are individualised and well-rounded, with genuine begrudging care for one another. There are perhaps a few moments where it is necessary to stretch one’s suspension of disbelief (particularly when it is revealed that Archie is blind – but only for the one scene where it is needed) but these do not tarnish what is still a very enjoyable sixty-minute performance.
Robbie Fletcher-Hill delivers a standout performance as Burke, using every cell of his body in a very physical performance that had the whole audience laughing. John Gregor as Archie is intensely dislikeable and the perfect caricature of a selfish and greedy landlord (perhaps not even as much of a caricature as we would like to believe). Both Elijah Khan (Joq) and Frankie Weatherby (Harriet) also provide plenty of fun moments and all four members of the cast are completely committed and play off one another well.
The set design by Constance Comparot is worth a mention as it perfectly alludes to a run-down flat, with peeling wallpaper and most of the doors being replaced by curtains and cardboard. It is essentially a caricature of a terrible flat, which is perfect for a show so extremely over-the-top. How To Kill Your Landlord is soon to end its time at the Edinburgh Fringe and has put its money where its mouth is by collecting money for a charity that supports tenants’ rights. Catch the show while you can – especially if you’ve ever felt as though your life would be easier if your landlord wasn’t in it.
