Sebastian Gardner and Daniel Kettle’s Steve and Tobias Versus Death had been scheduled to play at this year’s VAULT Festival which was ultimately cancelled due to Covid uncertainties. The Pleasance Theatre picked up a number of VAULT shows for a transfer season and thankfully Steve and Tobias is one of them.
This ridiculously funny play follows two brothers who find themselves in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. The writers hint at a deeper and more meaningful backstory but the precious 55-minute run time focusses on surreal comedy, blood, gore, and mashed potato.
Nine-year-old Tobias is cared for by his older brother Steve, their father left long ago, and it appears that even if their mother wasn’t a flesh-eating zombie, she wouldn’t be taking care of them anyway. The script very cleverly homes in on the relationship between the brothers; that very familiar scenario where constant bickering and outward displays of hate are underpinned by love and care.
The brother’s relationship is tested to the fullest as the pair endure an onslaught of the undead in their own living room. Where Steve and Tobias Versus Death excels is in its use of physical theatre, with characters being flung around the small space like Barbie dolls, Marysa Finnie’s direction gives it the comedy of slapstick but the realism of a gritty British horror film. The audience meanwhile wince as violent punches are thrown, and recoil in fear when a zombie gets too close.
Steve and Tobias Versus Death carves out a nice little niche for itself; a play that will have wide appeal because of its comedy credentials but will also delight fans of the horror genre thanks to Julia Bird’s gruesomely grotesque make-up and special effects.
Writers, Sebastian Gardner and Daniel Kettle take on the title roles, Kettle’s Tobias has a quality of Family Guy’s Stewie Griffin to him, if the play were longer, you could imagine him eventually building a death ray to wipe out the ever growing number of zombies that turn up on their doorstep.
Sebastian Gardner is the more grounded Steve; this is the character that appears most under control in the escalating chaos which unfolds. Yet Gardner gives the character depth and nuance, employing good use of body language to underline the sacrifices Steve has made for Tobias, and highlighting the bonds of brotherly love.
Taking the physical theatre elements to the next level, the remaining cast spend much of their time greedily devouring flesh, while flinging themselves from one side of the stage to the other and contorting their bodies into the most interesting of shapes.
Steve and Tobias Versus Death pays homage to the horror genre, and also transforms it into a unique piece of theatre that’s bloody good fun, but most importantly, like Tobias’s beloved mashed potato, it has clearly been made with love.
Steve and Tobias Versus Death is at The Pleasance until 19th March 2022.
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