Half Cocked Theatre’s debut piece, Mourning Overnight, is a wickedly funny farce which finds itself positioned tantalisingly between Joe Orton and The Young Ones. Having run at Camden Fringe last year, this play which combines criminal shenanigans and fraternal conflict, previews at the Hen and Chickens Theatre ahead of an Edinburgh Fringe run.
A mysterious suitcase, which according to the news reports, belongs to a particularly dangerous criminal gang, ends up in the front room of a rather messy apartment shared by two brothers, Eric and Lance. While the former is a goofy creative, the latter exudes that upper-class confidence, and it is this clash of personalities which elicits the greatest comedy moments, as they play games to decide what to do next.
Left to it long enough and they could probably have set their differences aside to find a solution. Unfortunately, they are repeatedly interrupted by a series of visitors; a pizza delivery boy who speaks in broken English, their own mother, and a detective with a name that rolls right off the tongue.
As with any good farce, Mourning Overnight becomes more and more absurd, and the events allow for some boisterous conflict. Often the most pressing of matters are set aside for some brotherly one-upmanship, wandering into the shouty side at times but often finding its feet again when it counts. One scene, which features a Duran Duran song is both hilarious and joyously physical, and a bit more of this would have been the icing on the cake.
From all the chaos, the company sculpt a very creative piece of parody. Company founders, Elliott Campion and Teddy Robson, who play Eric and Lance respectively have a wonderful rapport, giving their characters believability, and makes the buffoonery all the more engaging. Elliot Mitchell, as pizza boy, Greg pulls in some of the bigger laughs, thanks to a charming portrayal of the stereotypical foreigner.
While it could benefit from picking up the pace in a few key scenes, Mourning Overnight has clearly been well thought out; the script keeps hold of the audience’s attention, and the set, so often forced to be overlooked in a fringe production, looks the part. With this as their debut work, Half Cocked Theatre seem to have a promising future ahead thanks to their seemingly natural affinity for the farcical.
Mourning Overnight is at The Hen and Chickens Theatre until 28th June, and Greenside @ Infirmary Street 19th – 24th August.
